How can you avoid common decision-making mistakes with EI?

1 Identify your emotions

Before you make a decision, check in with yourself and identify how you are feeling. Are you stressed, angry, anxious, or excited? How are these emotions affecting your judgment, perception, and logic? Emotions can influence your decisions in positive or negative ways, depending on the situation and the intensity. For example, positive emotions can boost your confidence and motivation, but they can also make you overestimate your abilities or ignore risks. Negative emotions can make you more cautious and analytical, but they can also impair your focus and memory. By identifying your emotions, you can acknowledge their impact and adjust your thinking accordingly.

2 Consider others' perspectives

Another way to avoid decision-making mistakes is to consider the perspectives of other people who are involved or affected by your decision. How do they feel about the situation? What are their needs, preferences, and goals? How will your decision impact them? By empathizing with others, you can gain valuable insights and feedback that can help you make a more informed and balanced decision. You can also avoid conflicts and misunderstandings that can arise from ignoring or dismissing others' views.

3 Seek diverse input

A common decision-making mistake is to rely on a limited or homogeneous source of information or advice. This can lead to biases, such as confirmation bias, which is the tendency to seek and favor information that supports your existing beliefs or opinions. To avoid this, seek diverse input from people who have different backgrounds, experiences, skills, and perspectives. This can help you challenge your assumptions, broaden your horizons, and generate new ideas. You can also use techniques such as brainstorming, devil's advocate, or six thinking hats to stimulate creative and critical thinking.

4 Manage group dynamics

If you are making a decision as part of a team, you need to be aware of the group dynamics that can affect the quality and outcome of your decision. One of the most common pitfalls is groupthink, which is the tendency of a group to conform to a dominant or consensus view, even if it is flawed or irrational. Groupthink can stifle dissent, diversity, and innovation, and lead to poor decisions. To avoid groupthink, encourage open and constructive communication, respect different opinions, and assign roles and responsibilities to ensure everyone's participation and contribution.

5 Evaluate and learn

Finally, after you make a decision, you need to evaluate its results and learn from its consequences. Did you achieve your desired goals? What went well and what went wrong? How did your emotions and others' emotions affect the decision? How can you improve your decision-making process in the future? By reflecting on your experience, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, learn from your mistakes, and develop your EI skills.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?