Decision Making

Effective decision making is an integral part of the role of a leader, whether that be at a strategic level or an individual level, to help with focused and right action. This is predicated on the development of critical thinking and a sense of curiosity, and knowing when to make decisions based on imprecise data and when to spend time gathering further information.

LinkedIn Learning resources:

Watch these courses on LinkedIn Learning which explore different aspects of decision making.

• Critical Thinking course on LinkedIn Learning
• Making Decisions course on LinkedIn Learning
• Decision-Making Strategies course on LinkedIn Learning
• Executive Decision Making course on LinkedIn Learning
• Using Questions to Foster Critical Thinking and Curiosity course on LinkedIn Learning

Tips for decision making

What is critical thinking and do you use it? How do you develop critical thinking? In our surgery sessions we identified and shared some Tips:

1. Break things down and use critical thinking approaches, such as De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats, Maslow's Hierarchy of thinking skills in the cognitive domain, especially higher order questions around analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Read the appreciative enquiry Sway for more information on higher order questions.
2. Using Appreciative Enquiry can help, especially when discussing decisions with someone with a different decision making style (intentionally work with your opposite thinking style - slow / quick decision making).
3. Ask simple questions, such as 'What if?', 'So what?'
4. Confidence in decision making comes through subject knowledge.
5. Recognise that you don't need to know it all - know who does have knowledge of the relevant bit.
6. If decisions are over-ruled or over-turned, consider the level of importance to move on or offer a counter argument (be aware if you have bought into a particular decision rather than the outcome - which will have multiple routes).