“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” – Keri Russell***
We all know someone who has lived through the pain of a bad marriage, an unfulfilled career, harmful habits or an undisciplined lifestyle. Thankfully there can be life and even success after each. What was the root cause of the problem? Was it just exposure to all the wrong people? Was it a lack of sound advice from all the right people? Or was it simply bad decision making?
The Difference Between Decision Making and Judgement
Sometimes when we put terminology and reasoning in the right place with the right definition we get a different understanding… a better understanding. So with that being said, do we ever really think about the fact that bad decision making equals bad judgment? And therefore good decision-making equals good judgment? I want us to be clear whenever we think through past behaviors that we are able to accurately assess why we landed where we did. Sometimes we make mistakes and we do not assess how or why we made the mistake. Some won’t even acknowledge that they made a mistake at all. The result of doing that is that we end up repeating the same mistakes. The same holds true for successful ventures. We should know what it took and how we managed to accomplish something that was done well. We should know this well enough to educate other leaders, train those who come up after us and enable those who want to glean from our stories in the future. Not only that but how can we expect to repeat our success if we don’t realize what we did?!
Trouble Shooting Our Problems Is Important
Right now, someone is doubting what I just said. Well, let’s pause here for a moment and think about it. Think of the person who has a terrible history of relationships. Part of the problem we might consider as a factor, is not accepting ownership when we make poor decisions. We want to excuse ourselves by saying we had bad luck when we really made a hasty decision, made an emotional decision… we just messed up. Luck has nothing to do with it. We make choices and we function according to spiritual laws and principles as well as natural laws and principles. When we violate them, well… we end up paying the cost.
Anchoring is another explanation of how our denial of bad decision-making can set us up to repeat our blunders. The science of behavioral economics describes anchoring as the practice of clinging to a decision we’ve made whether it was logical or illogical. We filter out dissenting information while seeking data that confirms our original point of view.
Hindsight is 2020. That saying goes a long way. Don’t take it for granted. Take heed instead. Always take time to reflect on the decisions you make as well as those you have made in the past to identify what works and what doesn’t. The goal being, to repeat good practices and abandon bad ones.
5 Things That Contribute to Bad Decision Making
1. Heightened Emotions
Being highly angry or extremely happy can cause us to be overly cynical or excessively optimistic. Either one can then result in a decision that is not realistically sound. It is a good idea to let emotions settle down, and if necessary do something to settle them so we can function objectively. I have literally had to cool down for an entire 24 hours before talking with an employee who had angered me. This person had violated a policy and this had to be addressed but not while I was in my feelings. That would not have been fair to her and not a good move on my part. There is old sage wisdom that says never make major changes or decisions when you are upset, that includes cutting your hair, making a major purchase or changing the nature of a relationship.
2. Fear
There are times when fear becomes a factor because we are fear the unknown, we fear failure, we fear those above us will not approve or believe it or not, we fear success. Fear is bound to appear in life at times when we least suspect it or most need to avoid it. We still have to make decisions. The best course of action is to follow the planned course of action. Do what has to be done in spite of the fears. If we dot the i’s and cross the t’s we will be able to make a good sound decision to accomplish our goals. We only fail if we give in to the fear.
3. Lack of Dedicated Focus
People have a tendency to draw us into their days, weeks, activities and drama. When we need to focus, that is not usually their concern. When we are surrounded by such individuals, we have to make the time and space to be able to focus on the decision making process and the information that is needed to make that decision. If you don’t have enough information, need more time or there’s a red flag, we just might miss it if we cannot sit down, block out the distractions and focus on what needs to be done. Our work can suffer up to 40% when we divide our focus during important projects.
4. Failure to Get Good Data
It is important to talk with individuals who have a vested interest in what you are doing. They may be able to offer great insights and ideas that you can take into consideration and use to come up with new and innovative concepts. It may not be necessary to speak with everyone involved, especially when there are a large number of individuals but talk with or gather data from a sampling of them to build your data to a level that will help yield a sound decision in the end. It is also a very good move to do some benchmarking – meaning, find out what others are doing in organizations or situations such as your own. Identify those who are good, reputable individuals to compare yourself to in size, activity, objectives and vision and learn what and how they are doing what you are aiming to address. You don’t have to do it exactly as they have done it but you can find out the methods and the mind fields by doing this research and having these conversations. It can prove invaluable.
5. Too Much Input from Others
Yes we want input from those who may be affected but too much information from too many or even just a few could undermine your entire process. Some individuals will try to overpower you with their desire and attempt to persuade your decisions to line up with their thoughts instead of your own. Beware of such individuals. Some may sincerely want to help and some are just being selfish or manipulative. If you own the process then own it and don’t let anyone take that from you.
The Right Environment for Decision Making
Making decisions requires the right situation and the right environment. Some situations are not conducive for proper decision making. Some of us have never been taught how to make decisions. Though I didn’t always see the benefits, I realize my parents forced the process by having my sister and I make the decisions that affected our lives as young adults. When we were grown, we were expected to act like it, whether we liked it or not. They were there for support but we had to make choices and know how we got to the conclusions we chose. As a result, I enjoy making decisions when circumstances are right for decision making, like when:
A. I have the power to actually make the decision
B. I have enough information or the time to gather the information to make an intelligent decision
C. I have the authority to follow up and follow through on the decisions that are made
D. I have the right team to give input and help make the decision if it affects a collection of people
E. The people asking me to make the decision actually trust me to do so
I have had the privilege of making more decisions than I ever imagined in a variety of settings. It was rewarding and I appreciated the fact that high level leaders trusted me enough to ask me to manage important matters, and the decisions that went along with them. I have also had the misfortune of having to make decisions in environments where the seat of power and authority were ambiguous, time was not considered a necessity and the people asking me to make the decision really did not trust me to do so. In such instances, one wonders why there was any act of delegation at all. These situations are usually symbolic leadership actions and the person or persons doing it are ignorant of the fact that they are guilty of this. Such individuals have a hard time letting go of the reigns and struggle with delegation; but again, many do not realize they are poor delegators. I can only think of a couple of instances where I experienced this poor example of leadership while the positive experiences are too many to number. For that I am grateful.
8 Traits of Good Decision Makers
While there are traits that can be added to this list, the most prominent characteristics that highlight good decision makers are those listed below. Even if you have not been one to make good decisions in the past, the good news is, these are traits and tactics you can grow into or implement and become good at. In doing so, you’ll find the decisions that you make, whether personal or professional will be more comfortable for you and more successful.
- They know there is a big picture to consider and they consider it
- They know the big picture is made up of minute details that must be considered and they take these details into account
- Good listeners – they listen to the wisdom and expertise of others to help them make their decisions
- Good emotional intelligence – They are able to keep their emotions at bay and never allow them to overpower or overshadow the business at hand. They maintain control over emotions not the other way around.
- They read – Samuel Betances, a diversity consultant and leader I heard speak several times often stated this best, when he said “If you don’t read you can’t lead.” We have to read, research and learn before we can effectively lead others and make sound decisions.
- They use their experience to evaluate information and options
- They are not afraid to admit when they don’t know something and will do what is necessary to learn
- They are comfortable being surrounded by others who have answers they themselves are lacking
Closing Thoughts
Whether we are deciding who to marry, what job offer to accept or how to implement a new organizational program we have to learn to get it right. If we didn’t learn it to the point of it being intuitive as a professional or as a leader, it is not too late to learn now. Whether we admit it or not, we have all made mistakes in life and we all have wished we had done some things differently at some point. Now’s the time to learn to live life without regret and make better decisions to facilitate that life. I know numerous individuals who have made multiple mistakes and don’t like where they ended up. The sad part is, they continue to make poor decisions and things don’t get any better. The first step is taking ownership of the problem and accepting the fact that the decision maker who messed up is us. Once we start being honest with ourselves we should be able to take the next steps necessary to become better decision makers. It’s not too late!