As with many young leaders in the beginning of my career I thought a great decision would garner the attention of a large group of people. When my coworkers were smiling and shaking their heads, it confirmed my belief that I was a great decision maker.

But as time wore on, I saw the fallacy of this approach. In order to reach consensus, there is a great deal of compromise in order to accommodate everyone's viewpoint. The result is a final decision that is the lowest common denominator. It is something that everyone can accept but no one is truly happy with.

In addition, consensus-seeking is very slow and leaders are less likely to enjoy the luxury of time. As a top executive, I was often required to make quick and critical decisions to respond to a variety of sensitive situations. It was a case of an adverse media report, a procedure breach which was under investigation and a significant change to financial guidelines, a catastrophic loss of assets, and on and on. To discover more info on Picker Wheel, you must browse name picker wheel website.

I was asked two questions.

Being able to make sound decisions under extreme time pressure, what's the DNA of those decisions what actually makes them good?

Could the decisions I make be faster and more effective If I was in a position of discipline and did not place pressure on my decision-making?

These eight elements are the ones I've learned from my experiences and help me take better decisions. Over the last 10+ years of my career in the corporate world applying this approach to practice has allowed me to improve my performance as a leader and enhance the outcomes of my staff.

The Eight Elements of a Great Decision

As a leader who is new you must be able to make sound decisions without hesitation or procrastination is a skill that can distinguish you from your peers. While other leaders fumble around with difficult choices, your team could be meeting deadlines and delivering the kind of results that deliver true value. This is what will make your team and you stand out.

Only by evaluating the outcomes can you determine the effectiveness of the decision. In time you'll be able to determine if your decision was successful, unsuccessful or even indifferent. But if you rely only on retrospective analysis, the way towards better decisions may be tenuous: Hindsight is incredibly prone to bias in attribution.

Great decisions are shaped by consideration of many different viewpoints.

While consensus-seeking should never be the goal, it doesn't mean that you are able to make decisions on your own. It is essential to engage in serious discussions with your colleagues before you can make the right decision.

It is important to make the right decisions as close to the moment as is feasible.

Before you make a final decision, you must seek feedback from those who are in the right position. The most knowledgeable, experienced, and informed on the issue at hand. These people are usually lower in an organization, but they aren't necessarily in the place where the decision is taken.

The best decisions are focused on the cause, not just the symptoms.

You might be thinking about what kind of information you can get from your colleagues or team members. Many times, when confronted by a challenging issue We tend to focus on the symptoms rather than the issue that led to the problem in the first place. This ensures that the same issue will reappear in the future.

Great decisions are made by a clearly accountable person.

Even after you have received the feedback you must make an informed decision Remember that only you alone must be ready to claim the consequences of your choice. Leaders who are weak find it comforting to have their decisions endorsed by the people around them. They don't want to feel exposed by making a decisive decision that could be viewed as unpopular regardless of how crucial it may be. When accountability is shared, it taints your decision and your effectiveness as the person who makes the decision.

Great decisions consider the holistic consequences of a situation.

One method to build your self-confidence is to regularly practice balancing the risks and possible consequences of every making decisions you make. This is an exercise in thinking as broadly as you can to identify the "what ifs" of the decision you make. How likely is it that a negative result could occur and, if it doeshappen, what would the consequences be?