You're a Functional Training professional. How can you avoid the most common decision-making pitfalls?

Before you embark on making your decision, ask yourself whether you are thinking about the right issue or problem. A critical first step is to clearly define the decision that needs to be made. You can do this by gathering information on how the problem is affecting people now, and asking a range of people for their perspectives on it. For example, if your current recruitment processes are slow and ineffective, you may need to decide whether to use an outsourced service instead. The Five Whys is a useful technique you can use at the beginning of a decision-making process to drill down to the exact nature of a problem.

As a Functional Training professional, the first step in avoiding decision-making pitfalls is to clearly define your goals. Understanding what you aim to achieve is fundamental in guiding your decisions towards outcomes that benefit your career and your clients. Whether your objective is to expand your client base, enhance your skill set, or increase your revenue, each decision should be aligned with these goals. This alignment ensures that your actions are purposeful and directed towards measurable outcomes, such as investing in marketing to attract more clients or seeking additional certifications to broaden your service offerings.

1. Set Clear Goals: Define objectives to guide decisions. 2. Gather Relevant Data: Collect necessary information. 3. Explore Options: Consider alternatives thoroughly. 4. Engage Stakeholders: Seek diverse input. 5. Assess Risks: Evaluate potential drawbacks. 6. Apply Critical Thinking: Use logic and reasoning. 7. Prioritize Criteria: Identify key factors. 8. Avoid Overthinking: Set reasonable deadlines. 9. Trust Intuition: Balance with analysis. 10. Reflect and Improve: Learn from past decisions.

It can be extremely challenging to overcome our own biases and assumptions. When we assume and give in to our bias' we get distorted feedback and results. It is a good idea to do a little self-check-in before making a decision. Are you in a good head space to make a rational, unbiased and unemotional decision? If you find yourself solving or making decisions in an emotional way, take sometime to calm down and analyze the situation in a rational way before proceeding. For example: I do not not reply to emails, texts, or make decisions after 7pm. I am normally completely exhausted from the day. I do not do well when I am tired! I'd rather get some sleep and wake up with a clear head to make decisions.

Decision-making can often be clouded by personal biases and assumptions, leading to choices that may not serve your best interests or those of your clients. These biases, whether stemming from past experiences, emotions, or stereotypes, can significantly impact your judgment. To counteract this, it's crucial to cultivate awareness of your own biases and actively seek out diverse sources of information. Challenging your assumptions and considering multiple perspectives can enrich your understanding and lead to more informed decisions. This approach helps in mitigating the risk of making decisions based on incomplete or skewed information, ensuring your choices are both objective and well-rounded.

I've found these helpful as a functional trainer. ? Understand your client well: know their injuries, goals, and preferences. ? Stay open-minded: fancy workouts might not suit everyone. ? Consider multiple options and choose what's best for your client. ? Don't hesitate to seek assistance if necessary; a second opinion can be valuable. ? Document your plan and rationale, and reflect on it for future improvement.

Soliciting feedback and advice from peers, mentors, or industry experts can significantly enhance the quality of your decisions. This external input can provide you with insights and perspectives that you might not have considered, offering a broader view of the potential impact of your choices. However, it's essential to critically evaluate the feedback you receive, ensuring it aligns with your professional goals and values. By engaging with individuals who possess relevant experience and expertise, you can leverage their knowledge to inform your decision-making process, ultimately making choices that are both sound and supportive of your professional development.

Life is general is trial and error! Once you have made a decision, you will need to track, test and evaluate the results. The feedback you will get from monitoring your decision can be extremely valuable. Feedback can be obtained in many ways, surveys, feedback forms, tracking measurements,etc. Doing this will allow you to learn a lot about what did and didn't work. You will be able to make proper adjustments for the future that give you better results. Anytime while implementing a plan or a decision you should be open to altering it.

Implementing a decision is just the beginning; the real insights come from testing and evaluating the outcomes. By adopting a systematic approach to assess the effectiveness of your decisions, you can identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategies accordingly. This process of evaluation allows you to learn from both successes and failures, refining your decision-making skills over time. Employing tools such as client feedback surveys or performance metrics can provide tangible data to gauge the success of your decisions, ensuring that your future choices are informed by past experiences and evidence-based outcomes.

Never stop learning! Stay informed on the latest science, trends, and practices in the field. Attend conferences, take online courses, seminars, read, join a professional group, etc. Honestly reflect on all the feedback (positive and negative) you receive. Feedback is meant to help you grow and learn. Consistently learning will not only help your grow but it will also help your clients. You will be able to deliver better results when you are more knowledgeable.

Continuous learning and professional development are key to enhancing your decision-making skills as a Functional Training professional. Staying abreast of the latest trends, research, and techniques in your field not only enriches your expertise but also informs your strategic choices. Seeking mentorship, attending workshops, and engaging with professional networks can also provide valuable opportunities for growth and learning. By embracing a mindset of continual improvement, you position yourself to make decisions that not only reflect the current best practices in functional training but also anticipate future developments in the industry.