Top Tips for Sensitive Decision Making

For sensitive or highly strategic decisions this approach may not always be appropriate. However, when you can, it is a good idea to offer others the opportunity to engage in the decision-making process, or at least invite their opinion before making your decision. Involving others can give you a fresh perspective on things, and help you to see a particular decision or problem in a new light.

Consensus decision-making is a process which can be adopted by teams and organizations to generate participation and agreement in decision making. This goes much further than simply asking someone to "sense-check" a decision once it has already been made. Instead, it involves key stakeholders from the beginning of the decision-making process using an inclusive, collaborative approach to reach consensus.

If you do involve others in your decision making, it is important to bear in mind some key principles to get the best from this approach. For example, ensure that everyone has the chance to express their views during group decision making, but that individuals are not overly influenced by the views of others (i.e. ‘groupthink’) and that group members listen carefully to one another’s views.

2. Don’t just focus on facts – listen to your gut.

Good decision making relies on more than just facts and figures, although these will go some way towards setting out the case for the decision to be made. Our gut instincts and intuition also play an important role when it comes to making effective decisions.

Malcolm Gladwell writes about the idea of trusting our gut instincts in his book Blink. [1] He argues that snap judgements based on gut feeling can be as good as, or sometimes even better than, carefully considered ones. This is because we can gage what is most important from a narrow period or "slice" of our own experience.

It goes without saying that any data you use to inform your decision making must be both robust and credible. Even when you use intuition to inform your decisions it is still essential to do your homework.

Once you have taken a good look at all the data, take a step back and consider the bigger picture. At this point it is important to balance your quantitative analysis with what your intuition tells you about the decision. This is known as weighing up the rational side of your decision (i.e. what the numbers and logic tell you), with an intuition-based or irrational approach.

Intuition can best be described as an "inner voice" that makes you feel aware that some options or approaches just don’t feel right, although there may be no logical reason to explain why. If your intuition makes you feel that something isn’t quite right, first check that the information you have is accurate. It can also be a good idea to seek the views of someone who is more experienced in decision making, perhaps your manager, or someone in a similar role within your network.

3. Be aware of your emotions and moods.

Being mindful of our emotional and physical wellbeing, as well as our moods and our prevailing social influences, also goes some way towards helping us make better, more balanced decisions. Of all these factors, our emotions are particularly relevant. For example, if you are feeling stressed, worried about something or are in a bad mood, your decision-making capacity can be significantly compromised or distorted by these strong negative feelings. A similar effect may occur if you feel really happy or upbeat about something when making a decision.

Try to ensure that your emotional state doesn’t have too much of an influence over your decisions. If you are experiencing strong emotions or moods, it is important to give yourself some space to make as clear and objective a decision as you can, and to "get over" the background of your strong feelings. You can do this by waiting for your emotional state or mood to pass, or, if you don’t have much time, by taking a walk and getting some fresh air to clear your head, if you can.

4. Take on board alternative views.

The more angles you can view a decision from, the more options you have when it comes to choosing an outcome, and the more flexibility you have in affecting the outcome. For this reason, as part of your decision-making process, it can be a good idea to take on board lots of different perspectives and views on the decision before deciding which approach to take. Inviting a broad spectrum of people to a brainstorming meeting can be a useful first step.

Brainstorming involves throwing out ideas, however unorthodox or different they might seem, then reflecting and building on those ideas as potential ways to reach your decision. Key things to remember when brainstorming include avoiding trying to analyze ideas as they arise during the brainstorming session.

Try to keep the group focused on gathering all the ideas and then agree to consider them in more detail afterwards. Another good way of getting an alternative perspective on a potential decision is to imagine that you are a different person needing to make the decision. Doing this can give you a whole new take on the issue and some new ideas on how you might approach it.

5. Make a conscious effort to eliminate bias.

It can be easy to unintentionally allow our personal beliefs, assumptions and internal biases to influence our decision making. In particular, innate cognitive biases can impact our decisions. The most critical ones to look out for include "the bandwagon effect" (the tendency to follow the lead of others), "anchoring" (the tendency to rely too heavily on one piece of information) and "the halo effect" (allowing our perception of a single trait in someone to influence our perception of their other traits).

Before you implement a decision, take a step back to consider whether the course of action you are about to take is really based on the evidence you have gathered and analyzed. If you feel that some of the above biases and personal assumptions may have encroached upon your decision, you should take some more time to consider things objectively.

To do this you may find it helpful to talk things through with someone, perhaps a coach, mentor or a trusted colleague. Talking things through helps you verbalize your reasoning process, thereby becoming more aware of the errors, biases and assumptions you may have fallen prey to. Remember that while our internal biases are natural and cannot be completely eliminated, simply being aware of them, and taking steps to address them where possible, can help us make better decisions by avoiding their undue influence.

6. Consider the ethics of your decision.

Sometimes we can be faced with making extremely difficult decisions, where the outcome will have an impact on our professional integrity and personal reputation. Although many decisions have negative consequences, they may still be the ‘right thing to do’ in the given circumstances. Asking yourself the following questions can help to ensure your decisions are as ethically sound as possible, even where the impact on others may be considerable.

• Can I be proud of the decision I have made?
• Am I respecting the rights of others in making this decision?
• How would I feel if other people (e.g. my colleagues, family and friends) knew I came to this decision?
• Does the decision I have made feel "fair" and equitable, given the circumstances?

7. Think about the impact of your decision.

It can be all too easy to get caught up in the process of making a decision and not properly consider the impact of the decision you are making on others. In large, complex organizations this can often happen where decision makers are removed from the people for whom their decision will have the most impact. Most decisions affect people in one way or another, and some decisions (like those affecting people’s jobs, promotion prospects or salaries) can be particularly sensitive.

As part of your decision-making process it is essential to think about the impact it will have on others. You can do this by putting yourself in the shoes of the people that the decision will affect the most and by using your emotional intelligence. For example, if this decision affected you, what would you need and most appreciate in terms of support? Factor this into your decision making by running an impact analysis early on, so you can identify any negative consequences of a potential course of action, and plan for them accordingly.