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How To Become a Better Decision-Maker
A good decision-maker chooses actions that give the best outcome for themselves and others. Here's how to become one.
Life is a neverending series of decisions
Much of this decision-making is difficult. Weighing options is especially hard due to certain biases that can lead you astray.
These biases can include over-or underestimating the likelihood of something happening to you based on whether your friends have experienced something similar or how much you see it covered in the media. Another reason why decision-making is hard is the propensity to overweigh the instant gratification or the instant pain of a decision over the long-term consequences.
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Zero in on what you really want
Without clear objectives for what you want to achieve with a decision, you might focus on the wrong things.
Ask yourself, “What do I hope to achieve by addressing this choice?” and focus on aspects that aren’t easily quantifiable. This can be applied to both big and smaller decisions.
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A good decision-maker doesn''t dwell on small choices
While it’s worth taking time to settle larger decisions, don’t expend too much time and energy on the small stuff.
And don’t stress about the quality of your decision-making on these small choices either. Although the term decision fatigue — i.e., the more decisions you make during the day, the more likely you are to make bad ones — is buzzworthy, research doesn’t support its supposed effects. Having to make 10 choices a day versus two choices doesn’t mean your 10th choice will be worse. There’s no evidence of that.
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What is a good decision-maker?
A good decision-maker chooses actions that give the best outcome for themselves and others. They enter into the decision-making process with an open mind and do not let their own biases sway them. They make decisions rationally, after researching alternatives and understanding the consequences.
Good decision-makers involve others when appropriate and use knowledge, data, and opinions to shape their final decisions. They know why they chose a particular choice over another. They are confident in their decisions and rarely hesitate after reaching conclusions.
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Consider your personality traits and characteristics
Some of the personality traits that may impact your decision-making are:
- Overconfidence: This is a common trait that can compromise decision-making. Many people overestimate their performance and knowledge.
- Risk-taking or risk-averse: Natural risk-takers can make decisions without thoroughly considering the dangers, while people who are warier of risks may prefer making safe decisions.
- Natural bias: Everyone has biases and concerns that can impact decision-making. Perhaps you have made assumptions about certain people in your professional or personal sphere. You may feel fearful of certain situa
tions, like public speaking at meetings or flying for business trips.
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Good decision-makers know their goals
The decisions you make should help you or your company achieve goals. Identifying your individual and business goals can direct you toward the best choice. When you know what results you want, making decisions can be more straightforward.
For example, imagine you are considering whether to gain further qualifications. Identifying your professional goals can help you make the best decision for your future.
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Healthy eating should not be boring or depriving
Plenty of research shows that a diet rich in produce offers valuable nutrients not just for your body, but for your mental well-being.
But here’s the irony: If you focus exclusively on the mental and physical health perks — instead of how delicious healthy foods can be — you may have a harder time reaping those benefits.
So to really use food to fuel your body and your mind, it may help to try letting your taste buds guide you to delicious dishes that also happen to be nutritious.
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A smart decision-maker starts small
Before you jump in and redesign your entire diet in one fell swoop, make one change at a time.
So instead of turning down both bread and fries at your next dinner out, start off by making just one swap, such as trading the fries for roasted cauliflower, but letting yourself have a piece of bread.
This will help your mind adjust to the healthy changes instead of retaliating against deprivation mode.
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Focus on flavor
- Healthy foods have so much more to offer than mere vitamins and nutrients, such as delicious crunch, a colorful feast for the eyes, and, yes — a ton of flavor.
- Being mindful of these “experiential” elements of eating could help you choose wisely. This could be as simple as topping a salad with some fresh herbs or keeping a bottle of hot sauce at work to amp up the flavor of an otherwise “boring” plate.
- These strategies can “help us enjoy eating nutritious foods time and again and feel satisfied when we do because we aren’t in a mindset of restriction.
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Habits That Make You A Bad Decision-Maker: Laziness
This shows up as a failure to check facts, take the initiative, confirm assumptions, or gather additional input.
Basically, such people are perceived to be sloppy in their work and unwilling to put themselves out. They rely on past experience and expected results simply to be an extrapolation of the past.
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Not Anticipating Unexpected Events
It is discouraging to consistently consider the possibility of negative events in our lives, so most people assume the worst will not happen.
Unfortunately, bad things happen fairly often. People die, get divorced, and have accidents. Markets crash, house prices go down, and friends are unreliable.
There is excellent research demonstrating that if people just take the time to consider what might go wrong, they are actually very good at anticipating problems. But many people just get so excited about a decision they are making that they never take the time to do that simple due diligence.
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Habits That Make You A Bad Decision-Maker: Indecisiveness
When faced with a complex decision that will be based on constantly changing data, it’s easy to continue to study the data, ask for one more report, or perform yet one more analysis before a decision gets made.
When the reports and the analysis take much longer than expected, poor decision makers delay, and the opportunity is missed. It takes courage to look at the data, consider the consequences responsibly, and then move forward.
Oftentimes indecision is worse than making the wrong decision. Those most paralyzed by fear are the ones who believe that one mistake will ruin their careers and so
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5 Decision-making Types: Which One Are You?
- To achieve any form of success in life, there are certain key elements to recognize
- You are definitely going to need talent, hard work and some form of luck here and there
- But one of the very intrinsic thing that you need that people don't talk often
- Is to know how you make decisions on a very subconscious level
- Because you are going to make shit loads of decisions on the way of life
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Visionary
- The visionary are natural leaders and can lead teams under turbulent times
- These cateagory of people take decisions quickly
- And hece can either achive massive success in short frame of time with some right decisions at the right time
- Or can waste their and their teams time and resources by heading in a wrong direction
- If you are a visionary leader, you should seek the opinions and views of a broad group
- And only that way can you get a wider set of views and information that can be critical to success
- Does not sound like you then read the next cataegory
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Guardian
- Guardian is like a "model of fairness who preserves the health, balance, and values of the organization."
- These people have a very wide source of knowledge and inspiration
- They have a fact-checked process of decision making and avoid taking decisions in a rush
- These people like continuity and plan out stuff very well
- While such a mental model of decision making might help in good times
- But in the time of crisis, this might not be helpful
- To ensure the right moment for you and your team you have to keep questioning the very deeply held beliefs
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