In my coaching work, I meet a lot of people struggling with decision-making. A lot of them know very well that some decisions need to be taken but they are just stuck and can’t get themselves to go through the process of decision-making.
At work, on many occasions, the organization puts pressure for decisions to be taken. If the decision is necessary and if the concerned individual is unable or incapable of taking the decision, others will rush in and make it happen. In this sense, many poor decision-makers are hidden from view.
In their personal lives, poor decision-makers are likely to have a lot of unfinished business. They could have reached a point where they no longer care.
Leadership begins with self. Decision-making is a sign of leadership. You can’t be a leader if you have poor decision-making skills.
But why does this happen? Why do people end up getting stuck when it comes to taking decisions?
In my experience, some of the reasons could be:
- Some people’s general achievement orientation in life is low. Their take on life: ‘Nothing much has mattered till now. Nothing much will matter in the future. I have never been in control. So, why bother?’
- Others have been taking the decisions for them. Right from childhood, they were surrounded by people who made all the decisions. For this reason, they have very little confidence in taking their own decisions.
- At work, they have worked with supervisors who never appreciated their opinion or their supervisors have been inconsistent or unpredictable with their feedback. This has led them to be unsure of themselves.
- Whenever they did take a decision, they have been squarely blamed or sharply criticized. This has raised their perception of risk in their decision-making. They now play safe by not taking decisions.
So, for those who dread decision-making, what can be done to get past these barriers?
Here are 6 tips:
- Fully understand the context. What is the decision meant to achieve? Get all available information. If possible, find out precedents or what decisions have worked in the past? Be better informed.
- Know your limitations. Since the impact of the decision will happen in the future, there can never be a 100% guarantee of success with any decision.
- If you find decision-making risky, engage with people. Make the decision-making a collaborative exercise. Form something like a ‘support group’ and share all the information. Genuinely seek opinions. Tap into their wisdom. Play out the scenarios. Evaluate the choices and the risks. Hold a telescope and not a magnifying glass – think far. Lay the choices and risks on the table. If you have built trust with people, they will share their real views. This way, being a collaborative exercise, it lowers individual risk.
- If the situation allows, run some pilots before you come to a firm decision. While evaluating the performance of the pilots, the metrics will help you take a decision, backed by facts.
- Take full responsibility for the consequences. Accept the fact that there could be criticisms for your decision. Make friends with brickbats. So, what! There is always learning.
- Once the decision has played out, evaluate how the decision went and conduct a debrief with the people involved in the process of decision-making. This is a great moment to coach and build decision-makers in the organization.
3 things to watch out for:
- Staying in the discussion mode for ever and not taking the decision. Just as you are about to take a decision, taking a U-turn and going back to discussions.
- Keeping the back door open to escape if the consequences of the decision are not favorable.
- Blaming others for the decision.
Many of us end up living half a life because we don’t take the decisions that matter when they matter.
Take control of your life. Take decisions.
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