As a leader, you face complex and uncertain situations that require you to make important decisions every day. How can you improve your decision-making process and avoid common pitfalls? In this article, we will explore some effective ways to facilitate your decision-making process, based on the principles and practices of executive coaching.
Before you make any decision, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your success. What are your short-term and long-term goals? What are the key criteria that will guide your choices? How will you align your decision with your values, mission, and vision? By clarifying your goals and criteria, you will be able to narrow down your options and focus on the most relevant and impactful ones.
There’s a difference between thinking about a decision and getting coached on it. I have a series a powerful coaching questions that challenges clients to drill down so they can make powerful decisions. The focus you experience in a coaching session is pretty unique. It’s never failed and helps me unpack why this is important, what’s getting in the way of success and the next steps. Every skilled coach can help you make clear decisions. It’s a big part of helping people get unstuck.
Understanding the WHY of any decision is key to buying into it and chasing it. Understanding the key targets and simple questions will give you a great framework, but understanding the WHY really helps you become one with the focuses and goals.
One of the biggest challenges in decision-making is overcoming your own biases and assumptions. You may be influenced by your emotions, preferences, habits, or past experiences, which can limit your ability to see the whole picture and consider alternative solutions. To avoid this trap, you need to seek diverse perspectives and feedback from different sources, such as your peers, mentors, customers, or experts. By listening to different opinions and perspectives, you will be able to challenge your own thinking, discover new insights, and identify potential risks and opportunities.
I've realized the potency of diverse viewpoints in shaping decisions. It's like opening a window in a stuffy room — fresh ideas rush in. By actively seeking out opinions from different departments, backgrounds, and even industries, you’re not just inviting challenge; you're arming yourself with a 360-degree perspective. This process doesn't dilute your authority, instead, it enriches your strategic thinking muscle. Each new angle or critique is a piece of the puzzle that, when considered, guides you toward a more informed, holistic choice.
Once you have gathered enough information and feedback, you need to evaluate your options and trade-offs. How well do each of your options meet your goals and criteria? What are the pros and cons of each option? What are the potential consequences and implications of each option? How confident are you in each option? By evaluating your options and trade-offs, you will be able to weigh the benefits and costs of each option, and compare them objectively and systematically.
All decisions involve trade offs. Once we accept this and realize there aren’t any “perfect” decisions, we can connect to what we most want. Or more specifically, which trade offs we’re willing to accept. Some key questions to ask include, “Why is this important right now” and “What am I willing to give up in support of this decision?” Executive coaching is one of the most effective ways to work this out. Clients often arrive feeling confused, stuck and unable to make a decision. But even one session can create awareness and clarity.
After you have evaluated your options and trade-offs, you need to make a provisional decision and test it. A provisional decision is a tentative choice that you can revise or change based on new information or feedback. By making a provisional decision, you will be able to overcome the paralysis of analysis and move forward with action. To test your provisional decision, you need to design and implement a small experiment or pilot project that will allow you to observe the results and learn from them. By testing your provisional decision, you will be able to validate or invalidate your assumptions, and adjust or confirm your decision accordingly.
The final step in your decision-making process is to communicate and execute your decision. You need to communicate your decision clearly and convincingly to your stakeholders, such as your team, boss, or partners. You need to explain the rationale behind your decision, the benefits and risks of your decision, and the actions and expectations that follow your decision. By communicating your decision, you will be able to gain buy-in and support from your stakeholders, and address any questions or concerns they may have. To execute your decision, you need to plan and implement the necessary steps and tasks that will make your decision a reality. By executing your decision, you will be able to achieve your goals and create value and impact.
As a leader, your decision-making process is crucial for your success and influence. By following these effective ways to facilitate your decision-making process, you will be able to make better and faster decisions that will enhance your strategic leadership and performance.
I’d add, the finally step in any decision making process is evaluation. Without effective evaluation, decisions are incomplete. Make evaluation a natural and inevitable part of your decision making and find a way to capture your insights so you can build upon them for next time. Finally, make your evaluations both alone and as part of a team. We learn so much about ourselves when we evaluate together.
The goal in decision-making is to make as many of them correctly as possible. Decision-making methods, such as the PEDI method, aid in achieving this objective. Regardless of the method, these approaches provide a proven framework for thinking and acting, facilitating the creation of decisions that are comprehensible and likely to be correct. Especially in situations where quick decisions are necessary, these methods prove to be extremely helpful. One universally applicable method, for example, is the P?E?D?I? method, consisting of the following four phases: Preparation, Evaluation, Decision, and Implementation.