Your working life probably involves making a fair few decisions – whether that’s project-related and high-stakes calls, or whether you fancy sushi or salad for lunch. But in complex and volatile environments, how much thought have you given to your decision-making capability?
According to a recent global study by the Global Association of Applied Behavioural Scientists, there is a disconnect between experienced professionals’ confidence in their decision-making skills and their actual ability when it comes to making tough calls.
‘Experience will not lead you to good decision-making in a fast-moving environment’
While 91% of the professionals surveyed believe that they have ‘above-average’ decision-making skills, 45% also admitted that they lacked structured decision-making habits when making important workplace calls.
Organisational barriers
‘There is a confidence-competence gap,’ explains Melina Moleskis, behavioural scientist and founder of consultancy Meta-Decisions, who led the study. ‘Most professionals feel over-confident in decision-making because of their experience, despite never having been trained in it. But experience will not lead you to good decision-making in a dynamic, fast-moving environment.’
The study also found that organisational structures and dynamics can impede good decision-making, with 64% of respondents saying meetings are not effective decision-making forums. Badly structured meetings can lack clear objectives and may be poorly facilitated, leading to problems like groupthink, power imbalances and prolonged indecision.
‘Think about how you could redesign your checklists and templates’
So, how can professionals overcome these issues and set themselves up to make better decisions? Interventions like reshaping meeting practices and clarifying decision roles can help, as could undertaking structured training rooted in behavioural science.
Moleskis says team leaders should undertake a ‘decision audit’, exploring and defining what good decision-making looks like in their context, giving clarity around who makes decisions, what frameworks are used and how trade-offs are managed.
Key is making sure you fully understand the problem before rushing to ‘solutioneering’. ‘Think about how you could redesign your checklists and templates to ensure you’re putting more time in exploring the problem before jumping to conclusions,’ she advises.
Be prepared
When it comes to running more effective meetings, determine why you are having the meeting in the first place. ‘Put more emphasis on the preparation, sending material in advance,’ Moleskis says. ‘Ensure everyone has a voice and always leave enough time for next steps, assigning accountabilities and ensuring everyone has what they need.’
And what of the argument that we are all simply too busy to put time into creating the conditions for better decision-making? Firstly, Moleskis says that committing to following good decision-making processes is a personal development investment that will pay off when the pressure is on, with decision-making capability more like building a muscle than ticking a box.
But perhaps more critically, can you afford not to take decision-making seriously? ‘If you try to solve a problem without understanding it, you will be doing the same thing in one week, in one month, in one year,’ Moleskis warns. ‘If you spend a bit of time reconfiguring the way you approach it, you will save time down the line.’
More information
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