The Workplace Coach

There is a statistic floating around the internet that we make around 35,000 decisions a day.  Seems like a lot doesn’t it?  These include unconscious decisions that we don’t even think about, like which hand will I use to brush my teeth this morning? Will I turn right or left out of my driveway this morning? Some sources cite that we make around 220 decisions a day just about food. 

How many conscious decisions are you making every day?  These are decisions where you consider the situation, look at various options and possible outcomes, and make a deliberate decision weighing all the variables as to the best way forward. 

For example, you are about to get in your car to drive to work and you notice a flat tyre on your car.  You consider your options: 1.) Change the tyre yourself, possibly get dirty, have to change your clothes too but still be pretty much on time for work, or 2.) Call the roadside assist and have someone else change the tyre but possibly be significantly late for work, or 3.) Leave the car at home and uber or use public transport to work and deal with the tyre when you get home tonight.

There might be other options too but you can see that there is a process of deliberate consideration of the options, followed by a weighing up the possible outcomes, and then choosing the option that provides you with either the greater benefit or the lesser disadvantage.

How we make decisions is key to the quality of the decisions we make. How many decisions do you make in a single day at work?  How many of these decisions affect other people?

6 Steps for making better decisions

Step 1. Don’t let stress get the better of you. It’s easy to feel stressed out and anxious when you’re facing a tough choice. You might rush your decisions without fully thinking them through, or you might avoid making a decision at all because the stress has put you off your game. If you’re feeling anxious about a decision, try to manage your stress so that it doesn’t cloud your thinking. Take a few minutes away from the situation, focus on your breathing, take the dog for a walk, clear your head.

Step 2. Give yourself some time (if possible). It can be hard to think clearly under pressure, and sometimes your first idea isn’t always your best one. Sometimes the problem needs to percolate for a while.  Park the problem, let your subconscious find a solution for you while you think about other things.  Have you ever noticed how many good ideas come to you while you are in the shower?

Step 3. Weigh the pros and cons. It might help to actually make a list, to put your thinking on paper. Often this helps us realise that ‘the worst that could happen’ is not actually a catastrophe.  This process can take some of the anxiety away from the decision-making process and help you balance the cost-benefit of each option.

Step 4. Talk it out. You are the leader but that doesn’t mean you have to have all of the answers.  It can be helpful to get another person’s perspective on your issue, particularly if they’ve faced a similar decision.  Maybe get the team involved and see what creative solutions they can come up with. This is a great way to build the relationships in the team and involve everyone in designing the solution.

Step 5. Plan how you will announce the decision. If you think someone may have a negative response to your decision, think through why that might be.  Putting yourself in their shoes can help give you another perspective on the issue, and might even point you towards a different decision.

Step 6. Rethink your options. A good coaching question is “And what else?”  Its easy to get tunnel vision when considering options.  And what else is about exploring options that maybe haven’t occurred to you already.  You might decide that your original decision is still the best one, but give yourself the option of changing course. Don’t stay with a poor decision just because you’ve invested time into it or told someone else.

Remember if you are the one who is making the big decisions at work then how and why you make those decisions will impact others.  It is important that you make the best decisions for your team, for your business and for yourself.

What would help you make better decisions?

The Workplace Coach