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The ability to make sound decisions is essential to an executive’s success, but making the hard calls is easier said than done. With the ever-increasing complexity of today’s business environments, executive leaders must constantly hone their decision-making skills to remain effective in their roles. Fortunately, there are various methods and strategies leaders can use to improve their decision making.
Below, 16 Forbes Coaches Council members share effective approaches executives can take to enhance their ability to make tough decisions in a timely manner, from analyzing data to seeking out diverse perspectives. Using these tips to make better decisions, faster and more smoothly than ever before, will not only boost a leader’s confidence, but also increase the business’s overall speed and efficiency.
1. Assess Your Current Decision-Making Capabilities
First, quickly assessing your current decision-making capabilities can help clarify potential gaps. Are you biased toward action and jumping in too fast? Or are you hesitant to make decisions? You might benefit from a “refresh” of your tried-and-true decision-making style. What else could you try on? Finally, what does your gut say? Make the most of your intuition. It’s almost always right. - Susan Sadler, Sadler Communications LLC
2. Be Curious And Ask Open-Ended Questions
Be clear on the problem that requires a decision; know who needs to be involved and their role. Be curious and ask open-ended questions to gather information. Listen to the responses even if they do not agree, and consider all sides of the problem before making the decision in the time required. - Karen Tracy, Dr. Karen A Tracy, LLC
3. Involve Others In The Process
Improving decision-making skills is about one word: involvement. Involvement is a hallmark of successful change in management. Whether it’s a group of experts, people on the front lines or your complementary partner who possesses strengths opposite yours, involving different points of view will help you refine your idea, identify the best way forward and catapult people to a place of buy-in, so that ultimately, goal achievement happens faster. - Carrie Skowronski, Leadology
4. Find Safe Ways To Practice Decision Making
How do you improve a skill or develop a capability? Create a way to practice it in relative safety. Learning surfaces through action and reflection. Expose yourself to new information, and then construct experiments that interest you. Which decisions, specifically, do you want to improve? What counts as an improvement? Solicit feedback from trusted partners. Put yourself in more of those situations. - Duncan Skelton, Duncan Skelton Coaching Ltd
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5. Create Space For Reflection
Make room to simply sit with the information you’ve heard and gathered, and be willing to challenge your own bias and perspective. Often, leaders are falsely rewarded for making quick decisions, not necessarily thoughtful ones. Slow is the new fast. - Kelly Weber, The Wander Project
6. Make Structure Your Friend
Too often, leaders leverage their gut versus thinking through a problem holistically. What’s the issue to be solved? What are the potential solutions? What’s the cost-benefit of each solution? Which solution could best be applied to this problem? Later, ask, “How well did that decision solve the issue, and what can we learn from it?” - Michael Milad, SpencerStuart
7. Agree Upon Clear Criteria With Lawyers And Others
Many of the notorious crises of the past few decades are characterized by leaders making poor decisions under stress. In high-stakes situations such as crises, executives should resist making decisions based on personal preference. Rather, they need to have clear criteria on how to decide what to do, when to do it and how to do it that is agreed upon in advance with lawyers and others. - Helio Fred Garcia, Logos Consulting Group
8. Use Your Head, Heart And Gut
While many of us listen to our heads or follow our hearts, the best decision makers use not one but three brains: head, heart and gut. Each of these “brains” brings a unique perspective. Our heads are great with facts and logic, our hearts speak our desires, and our gut senses danger. Dismissing any one of them is akin to omitting a literal “body” of awareness. Check in with all three brains for sound decisions. - April Armstrong, AHA Insight
9. Answer These Six Questions
Answer six simple questions: 1. What decision is to be made? 2. What do you believe the benefits and outcome will be? 3. What actions can you take once the decision is made? 4. What obstacles or consequences need to be considered in making this decision? 5. What results do you want (and will be able to measure) once the decision is made? 6. What is the contingency plan if the decision doesn’t result in the outcome you want? - Denise Russo, Maxwell Leadership
10. Identify Your Top Five Core Values
To improve decision making, executives should identify their top five core values. By gaining clarity on these guiding principles, leaders can align their decisions with their mission, streamlining complex choices. With a strong foundation of core values, tough decisions become easier to navigate, promoting confident and effective leadership. - Farshad Asl, Top Leaders, Inc.
11. Identify Your Heroes
If Eleanor Roosevelt is your hero, ask yourself, “What would she do?” This is a process of getting out of your own way and opening yourself up to a different part of your brain. This method also mitigates, to some degree, unconscious biases lurking around. Doing this exercise allows you to access the imagination, and a more creative solution may reveal itself. - Melinda Fouts, Success Starts With You
12. Get Comfortable Making Decisions Without All The Facts
While it is great to have all the facts, most of the time, that isn’t possible. Even when all the facts are available, some executives suffer from analysis paralysis and wait too long to act. Executives need to get comfortable making decisions without a complete set of facts, knowing that they can course correct if warranted when new information becomes available. - Kathy Bernhard, KFB Leadership Solutions
13. Make A Decision, Take Action, Then Assess
The most decisive leaders I know live by this principle: You only know if a decision is “right” once you’ve made it and seen the impact. Of course, it’s important to think things through, anticipate the impact of a decision and do the modeling necessary to get the decision “as right as possible” ahead of time, but this principle can give leaders the courage to decide, take action and assess. - Joelle Jay, LRI
14. Pay Attention To Your Internal Experiences
Leaders must pay attention to their internal experiences, such as bodily sensations, emotions, reactions and thoughts. A proper mindfulness practice can help achieve this awareness. By focusing on these internal processes, leaders can make informed decisions that align with their values and goals. Therefore, prioritizing a practice of mindfulness can be crucial for effective leadership. - Gamini Hewawasam, PhD, ManoLead NFP
15. Create A Decision-Making Framework
Not all decisions are the same. Picture your decision on a grid where one axis is the time required and the other is the buy-in required. Consider whether the decision is a one-way door (no coming back) or a two-way door (can be reversed if need be). It’s also important to recognize any decision-making biases of the deciding parties. - Evan Roth, Roth Consultancy International, LLC.
16. Sleep On It
While your decision may be a perfectly sound one that will work out to your expectations, let that decision further germinate overnight and revisit it again with a fresh mind. This extra “percolation” time can make the difference between a gut instinct and a truly strategic, rational decision. You may also be able to further clarify key pieces of the decision after some shut-eye! - Emily Kapit, ReFresh Your Step, LLC
