Leadership Tip

How to make good decisions faster

A simple approach can help replace your slow deliberations with fast decisions. Try this framework: 

  1. Know your ultimate objective. The biggest hurdle to fast decisions is criteria overload. Of the seven or eight possible objectives you would love to meet, which one or two will make the biggest impact? Consider which stakeholder you least want to disappoint—which goal would they care about most?
     
  2. Get a second opinion. Asking one other person can broaden your frame of reference and help eliminate judgment errors. Plus, the act of explaining your situation anew often gives you fresh insights.
     
  3. Do something. Select one option while letting go of all the other "good" ones. No amount of deliberation can guarantee that you have identified the "right" option, but remember: The purpose of a decision is not choose perfectly, but to get you to the next decision.

The above leadership tip...
was sent in response to a question from a participant on our 10/10 leadership development and mentoring programme and adapted from Make Good Decisions Faster by Nick Tasler. Whether you're a first time manager or an experienced leader, straightforward, practical advice on best practice is hard to find. Until now. To find out how you, your team or your organisation can benefit, please join us on our next complimentary webinar or contact us.

Subscribe

Free weekly email on things you didn't know last week with links to articles on leadership excellence. To view previous editions click here.


Unlock your potential

Whether face to face, or over the telephone, we can develop your leadership skills, support you in making important decisions, and help you reach your potential.

Read More

Leadership Articles

10 ways to build your team

Everyone would like to be part of a dream team - a group of people, each skilled in their own discipline, pulling together to achieve more than they ever could alone. Yet while most organisations talk about teamwork, they still tend to reward individual... read more

10 weekend habits of purposeful leaders

The most impactful leaders know that success doesn’t come from working around the clock - it comes from working with intention. And that includes how we spend our weekends. While weekdays often revolve around performance, the weekend is a chance to reset... read more

10 actions for effective communication

High-quality communication is an essential element in business and organisational performance. Effective communication relies on engaging with people, having a commitment to building strong and productive relationships and realising that we communicate... read more

Leadership Tips

How to live to 100

We often assume longevity is driven by diet, exercise, or genetics. Research into the world’s longest-lived communities - sometimes called “Blue Zones” - suggests something deeper. People who live the longest tend to have strong relationships, a sense of... read more

How to avoid the perfection trap

In leadership and work, perfection is often treated as the only acceptable standard. Yet the pursuit of flawless outcomes can quietly undermine performance. Teams miss deadlines, energy drains away, and progress slows as people polish details that add... read more

How to rediscover the joy of reading

Reading is quietly disappearing. In Britain, just one in three children aged 8–18 read in their spare time, down sharply since 2005. In the US, only 16% of adults read for leisure on an average day, compared with 28% two decades ago. Yet leaders have... read more