What do you do if your decision-making skills are hindering effective choices in a startup?

1 Identify your decision-making style

The first step is to understand how you prefer to make decisions and what are your strengths and weaknesses. There are different decision-making styles, such as analytical, intuitive, collaborative, or directive. Each style has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the situation, the complexity, and the urgency of the decision. For example, analytical decision-makers are good at using data and logic, but they may struggle with ambiguity and creativity. Intuitive decision-makers are good at trusting their gut and spotting opportunities, but they may overlook details and risks. Collaborative decision-makers are good at involving others and building consensus, but they may take too long and compromise too much. Directive decision-makers are good at being decisive and assertive, but they may ignore feedback and alternatives. You can take online assessments or self-reflect to identify your decision-making style and how it affects your choices.

2 Recognize and avoid common decision-making traps

The second step is to be aware of the common decision-making traps that can impair your judgment and lead to poor choices. Some of these traps are cognitive biases, such as confirmation bias, anchoring bias, availability bias, or sunk cost fallacy. These biases can make you seek, interpret, or remember information in a way that confirms your existing beliefs, influences your initial impressions, overestimates the likelihood of events, or makes you stick to past investments. To avoid these biases, you need to challenge your assumptions, seek diverse perspectives, and use objective criteria. Another common trap is emotional triggers, such as fear, anger, or excitement. These emotions can make you act impulsively, irrationally, or defensively. To avoid these triggers, you need to manage your emotions, practice mindfulness, and take a break before making a decision.

3 Use effective decision-making tools and frameworks

The third step is to use effective decision-making tools and frameworks that can help you structure your thinking, evaluate your options, and communicate your rationale. Some of these tools and frameworks are SWOT analysis, pros and cons list, decision matrix, or cost-benefit analysis. These tools and frameworks can help you identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your decision, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each option, compare the criteria and scores of each option, or calculate the costs and benefits of each option. You can use these tools and frameworks individually or with your team, depending on the type and scope of your decision.

4 Test and learn from your decisions

The fourth step is to test and learn from your decisions, rather than treating them as final or irreversible. You need to monitor the outcomes and feedback of your decisions, and be ready to adapt or change them if needed. You can use methods such as experiments, prototypes, or pilots to test your decisions in a small scale and with low risk, before implementing them in a larger scale and with higher stakes. You can also use methods such as surveys, interviews, or analytics to collect feedback from your customers, stakeholders, or team members, and to measure the impact of your decisions on your key metrics and goals. You can use these methods to learn from your successes and failures, and to improve your decision-making skills over time.

5 Seek and accept support and guidance

The fifth step is to seek and accept support and guidance from others who can help you improve your decision-making skills. You don't have to make all the decisions by yourself, nor do you have to pretend that you know everything. You can leverage the expertise, experience, and insights of others who can offer you advice, mentorship, or coaching. You can also learn from the best practices, case studies, or books of other successful decision-makers in your field or industry. You can seek and accept support and guidance from various sources, such as your co-founders, mentors, advisors, peers, or online communities. You can also be open to feedback, criticism, or suggestions from others who can help you grow and develop as a decision-maker.

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?