6 Steps to Better Decision Making

Decision making is a key role for any manager or leader. Surprisingly many people struggle when it comes to taking decisions. This might be due to:

o Fear of failure

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o Lack of a structured approach

o Procrastinating

o Lack of clarity

Whatever the barriers, there are 6 steps that you can follow when taking any decision.

1. Problem Definition

Before you can start to take any decisions, you need to be absolutely clear the problem you are trying to reach a decision on. One simple technique is just to write out in a sentence what the problem is that you need to take a decision on.

2. Assess the implications

All decisions have implications. If it is a decision at work, it has implications for you, your peers, your team and your superiors. Depending on the decision (e.g. a promotion at work) it may even have implications for your family, especially if it involves relocation.

3. Explore different perspectives

Perspectives are simply different lenses through which you look at the problem. By exploring different perspectives you start to get a feel for those that you are most attracted to.

4. Get clear on your ideal outcome

When you are faced with a big decision, it is easy to get lost in the detail and circumstances. An alternative is to get clear on your ideal outcome and use this ideal outcome to inform your choices. Imagine you aspire to be a CFO of a Top 100 company. By having clarity on your outcome, you can make choices on promotions and experience linked to this ideal outcome.

5. Weigh up pros and cons

Another way of looking at a decision is to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of the options open to you. Simply listing the advantages and disadvantages of each option is a powerful way of moving forward on decisions.

6. Decide and act

Once you have gone through the previous 5 steps, commit to a choice or course of action and start to make it happen. To avoid procrastination, give yourself permission to be okay with any failings that might arise.

At the end of the day there is no magic formula for decision making. Following some simple steps and acting can however move you into the realm of effective decision maker.

6 Steps to Better Decision Making

Duncan Brodie helps managers and leaders to achieve their true potential. Sign up today for his free monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

Organizational Decision Making Is A Strategic Process

The organizational decision making process involves proper and efficient implementation of strategic plans and methods to achieve desired business objective. Let's examine some key areas that affect the overall process.

Often one difficulty facing an organization is that multiple divisions are involved in the overall decision making process. Making a decision can have different implications for each respective division. Gaining agreement from all stakeholders can be a challenge. When a companies overall strategy depends on the support of all business units, organization wide support is crucial.

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Key strategic evaluation and planning is crucial. This planning needs to address the overall strategic goals of the organization but also the end effects that impact workers outside of the decision chain. Organizational dysfunction and worker resistance can result if proper thought and attention is not directed towards front line efforts. Organizational change professional deal specifically with these issues. Unifying the company at all levels is very important. A failure to calculate and anticipate the implications of key decisions can derail a companies goals and objectives.

Organizational change management and planning processes seek to address the implications that a change in one input can have on the corresponding output. The evaluation and process evaluation that comprises part of the change management approach seeks to measure and anticipate the effect strategic decisions will have on company resources and labor. This permits the careful monitoring and benchmarking to adjust process as required to more closely align organizational objectives with desired outcomes.

With the businesses of today facing shortened product lifecycles, organizations are facing intense competitive pressures to build market share to stay ahead of rivals. Process changes, the introduction of new and improved disruptive technologies are forcing companies to adapt new business goals and objectives in shortened timeframes. This places corresponding stresses on all levels of the organization. As business units are forced to respond to top level management goals, flexibility has become a modern day requirement.

Organizational change management is a growing discipline to help managers become better positioned to understand how the decision making process can affect individuals at a cognitive level. Performance improvement is intimately linked to this. As companies transition into the future, change management is expected to become increasingly important.

Organizational Decision Making Is A Strategic Process

Andrew Winthorp is a freelance writer for http://www.organizational-change-management.com

Organizational Changes Learn more about how to prepare, plan and manage organizational change.