“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing. ”
THE behaviours of decision making (10)
Decision making is based on insights gained through Broad Scanning, intuition and analytical and conceptual thinking. Essentially leaders make two basic kinds of decisions: those that 'just happen' and those that are arrived at by using a specific process.
Through the Business Acumen Gauge we break down decision making into repeatable behaviours that will produce good decision making when measured and addressed. These behaviours asses how leaders collect and evaluate information, how they use intuition and how they take into account the impact of their decisions on others. Examples of Decision Making behaviours are outlined below.
decision making behaviors include:
Collects, evaluates and tests information to find the important aspects of the issues
Modern day business often compels leaders to make quick decisions. Though quick decisions can produce quick results they also fall victim to some key decision making pitfalls. This behaviour therefore seeks to measure the degree to which a leader consciously collects, evaluates and tests information to find important aspects of the issue before making a decision.
Takes into account the impact of decisions and actions on business performance
Almost every professional with more than a few years of working life under their belt has witnessed decisions that have an adverse effect on business performance. This can be for a variety of reasons. It is therefore important that leaders create a habit of taking into account the impact of decisions and actions on business performance. This behaviour allows you to measure this (see sample below).
This sample result could highlight the participant:
- Has made decisions to the benefit of their B.U at the detriment of the organisation
- Has missed a key performance indicator that management value
- Has made decisions with adverse effects apparent at a senior level
uses intuitive insight, looking beyond the data, to weigh up options
Big Data, advanced analytics and business intelligence software all present leaders with unparalleled amounts of data. Yet especially where human elements are involved, intuitive insight is critical to make a balanced decision. This behaviour measures the degree to which a leader uses intuition versus becoming over reliant on hard data during decision making.