At the beginning of my career as a young leader I believed that a successful choice was one that garnered widespread approval. It was a sign that I was a successful decision maker, when my coworkers smiled and nodded collectively.

 

As time passed I saw the flaws of this strategy. In order to reach consensus, there is a great deal of compromise in order to accommodate everyone's view. The result is a decision that is the least common denominator: a choice that everyone can live with however, no one is really happy with.

 

More importantly, consensus-seeking is nearly always excruciatingly slow, and the higher up a leader climbs more often they have the luxury of time. As a top executive, I was frequently called upon to take swift and crucial decisions in response to a variety of sensitive situations. This included the media's negative coverage and a breach of procedure that was under investigation, a material modification to financial guidelines, a devastating loss of assets, and on and on. You may get more details on Picker Wheel by visiting random name picker wheel website.

I was prompted to ask two questions.

 

If I know that I can make sound decisions under extreme deadlines, what is the basis of those decisions? that makes them so good?

 

If I were in a position of discipline to apply my own time constraints on decision-making, could the decisions that result be quicker and more effective?

 

I have distilled my knowledge into the eight elements which improve both speed and precision of my decision-making. Over the last 10+ years of my corporate career Implementing this method into practice has helped me lift my performance as a leader and improve the results of my staff.

 

The Eight Elements of Great Decisions

 

As a brand new leader making good decisions without doubt or delay is an ability that will set you apart from the rest of your colleagues. Your team might be meeting deadlines, and delivering the results that matter, while others may hesitate to take a risk and make tough decisions. This is what makes your team and you stand out.

 

Only by evaluating the outcomes can you determine the effectiveness of an action. As time passes you'll discover whether your decision was successful, unsuccessful or even indifferent. However, if you only rely on retrospectual analysis, the road to better decisions can be difficult to discern: Hindsight is incredibly prone to bias in attribution.

 

A variety of perspectives will help you make the best decisions.

 

While consensus-seeking should never be your goal, this does not mean you have the right to act unilaterally. You need to have meaningful discussions with others before making the right decision.

 

Great decisions are made in close proximity to the moment of action.

 

Before making a decision, it is important to seek out opinions from the right people. The most experienced, knowledgeable, and informed on the issue that is at hand. These individuals are usually at a lower rank in an organization, but not necessarily in the same room in which the decision is taken.

 

Excellent decisions concentrate on the root cause and not the symptoms.

 

You might be asking what kind of information you can get from your colleagues or team members. Many times, when confronted by a challenging issue we tend to concentrate on identifying the causes, not the core issue that caused the problem initially. If we do this, the same problem will likely resurface later on.

 

Someone who is accountable can make great decisions.

 

Even if you've got the information you need to make informed decisions, you must be aware that it is you that is accountable for your choice. It is comforting for leaders who are not strong to know that their decisions are backed by the people around them. They don't want to be insecure by making a decision that could be viewed as unpopular, regardless of how necessary it is. However, sharing the responsibility could dilute your decision-making ability and diminish your efficiency as the one calling.

 

The best decisions are those that consider the overall consequences of a situation.

 

The regular practice of weighing the potential risks and impacts of each decision you make can help increase your confidence. It's about looking as broad as possible to consider the "what ifs." What are the odds that a potential negative outcome could occur and, if it happens, what will the consequences be?