Management: 6 tips for making decisions without (too much) error
28 February 2014
Read by 2444 persons
Company life leads us to make decisions that, in retrospect, do not always leave us very satisfied. Can we optimize our way of deciding? How to avoid pitfalls? Our recommendations in six points.
1. Postpone when possible
"Companies value the myth of the good manager who knows how to make quick decisions," notes Isabelle Rey-Millet, partner at EthikonsultinG. In addition to the collective pressure to do everything quickly, many managers have themselves integrated this pressure and feel obliged to decide urgently.
Be careful: deciding urgently is sometimes a way of avoiding thinking deeply or getting out of the discomfort that results from an unresolved situation, but postponing the decision is often necessary in conflict situations.
"An impulsive decision dictated by a negative emotion (anger, frustration, fear, etc.) is rarely a fair decision," emphasizes Régis Halgand, trainer at PRH Formation Développement. It is important to postpone it to allow our sensitivity to calm down and regain control of our emotions."
2. Take a step back
A good way to distance ourselves from our emotions is to change our posture: "Ask yourself what you would advise a friend if he came to you with your problem," suggests Frédéric Rey-Millet, partner at Ethikonsulting. Your remarks would undoubtedly be different from what you tell yourself in this situation because you would manage to take a step back."
In the same spirit, ask yourself: "If I make this choice, what will happen in ten minutes? In ten days? In ten months?" This will allow you to overcome short-term emotion to put things into perspective and look at the situation in a more calm way.
3. Seek objectivity
"It's about taking a step back and adopting a state of neutrality in which anything is possible," advises Régis Halgand. Let go of your preconceived ideas and be open to everything that comes. Also accept to look at our less glorious feelings (desire to put oneself forward, revenge, etc.) which, if they are not 'aware', risk influencing our choices."
Concretely, this starts by opening our reflection as widely as possible. Get out of binary choices, the fruit of intellectual laziness. "In life, not everything is black or white, there is an infinity of nuances," analyzes Frédéric Rey-Millet. The same goes for decision-making. A manager who only identifies two possible solutions should be alerted: did he really go to the end of his reflection? Did he consider all the scenarios?"
Be careful not to consider only one side of the coin: "Often, we conduct an analysis biased by our preference: we focus on the positive things that confirm what we want to hear, and we neglect the elements that do not go in the direction we want," notes Isabelle Rey-Millet. It is important to identify vigilance points, the elements that could cause our solution to fail." And if none comes to mind, be wary. It's that you've really lost all objectivity!
4. Consult other opinions
"Exchanging with someone who has encountered a similar situation is precious before deciding," assures Frédéric Rey-Millet. It's not about being influenced, but about looking, with hindsight, how the person solved their problem without being led by their emotions."
This is confirmed by Régis Halgand: "It is important to identify good advisors, who have experience and who will, through their different perspective, broaden our vision of the situation."
5. Listen to your intuition...
"Rational analysis, essential in decision-making, is not enough," observes Régis Halgand. It is good to listen to our emotional intelligence, which is expressed in the form of intuition.
Scientists (1) today demonstrate the complementarity between the left brain, the seat of reason, and the right brain, that of intuition, which takes over in very complex situations where our rational intelligence cannot grasp all the parameters."
6. ...and your body
"A decision that generates inner discomfort, heaviness, discomfort deserves to stop for a moment," suggests Régis Halgand. 'What's going on? Where does it come from?' Listening to this discomfort could alert us to elements that we had not taken into account."
Conversely, a good decision is often translated by an inner dynamism, a feeling of lightness, continues the trainer. Even when the stakes are high, the right decision makes us feel a deep peace.
(1) Jonah Lehrer: "Making the right choice", Robert Laffont editions.
Marie-Pierre Noguès-Ledru.
Pourseformer.fr
Posted online on February 28, 2014.
1. Postpone when possible
"Companies value the myth of the good manager who knows how to make quick decisions," notes Isabelle Rey-Millet, partner at EthikonsultinG. In addition to the collective pressure to do everything quickly, many managers have themselves integrated this pressure and feel obliged to decide urgently.
Be careful: deciding urgently is sometimes a way of avoiding thinking deeply or getting out of the discomfort that results from an unresolved situation, but postponing the decision is often necessary in conflict situations.
"An impulsive decision dictated by a negative emotion (anger, frustration, fear, etc.) is rarely a fair decision," emphasizes Régis Halgand, trainer at PRH Formation Développement. It is important to postpone it to allow our sensitivity to calm down and regain control of our emotions."
2. Take a step back
A good way to distance ourselves from our emotions is to change our posture: "Ask yourself what you would advise a friend if he came to you with your problem," suggests Frédéric Rey-Millet, partner at Ethikonsulting. Your remarks would undoubtedly be different from what you tell yourself in this situation because you would manage to take a step back."
In the same spirit, ask yourself: "If I make this choice, what will happen in ten minutes? In ten days? In ten months?" This will allow you to overcome short-term emotion to put things into perspective and look at the situation in a more calm way.
3. Seek objectivity
"It's about taking a step back and adopting a state of neutrality in which anything is possible," advises Régis Halgand. Let go of your preconceived ideas and be open to everything that comes. Also accept to look at our less glorious feelings (desire to put oneself forward, revenge, etc.) which, if they are not 'aware', risk influencing our choices."
Concretely, this starts by opening our reflection as widely as possible. Get out of binary choices, the fruit of intellectual laziness. "In life, not everything is black or white, there is an infinity of nuances," analyzes Frédéric Rey-Millet. The same goes for decision-making. A manager who only identifies two possible solutions should be alerted: did he really go to the end of his reflection? Did he consider all the scenarios?"
Be careful not to consider only one side of the coin: "Often, we conduct an analysis biased by our preference: we focus on the positive things that confirm what we want to hear, and we neglect the elements that do not go in the direction we want," notes Isabelle Rey-Millet. It is important to identify vigilance points, the elements that could cause our solution to fail." And if none comes to mind, be wary. It's that you've really lost all objectivity!
4. Consult other opinions
"Exchanging with someone who has encountered a similar situation is precious before deciding," assures Frédéric Rey-Millet. It's not about being influenced, but about looking, with hindsight, how the person solved their problem without being led by their emotions."
This is confirmed by Régis Halgand: "It is important to identify good advisors, who have experience and who will, through their different perspective, broaden our vision of the situation."
5. Listen to your intuition...
"Rational analysis, essential in decision-making, is not enough," observes Régis Halgand. It is good to listen to our emotional intelligence, which is expressed in the form of intuition.
Scientists (1) today demonstrate the complementarity between the left brain, the seat of reason, and the right brain, that of intuition, which takes over in very complex situations where our rational intelligence cannot grasp all the parameters."
6. ...and your body
"A decision that generates inner discomfort, heaviness, discomfort deserves to stop for a moment," suggests Régis Halgand. 'What's going on? Where does it come from?' Listening to this discomfort could alert us to elements that we had not taken into account."
Conversely, a good decision is often translated by an inner dynamism, a feeling of lightness, continues the trainer. Even when the stakes are high, the right decision makes us feel a deep peace.
(1) Jonah Lehrer: "Making the right choice", Robert Laffont editions.
Marie-Pierre Noguès-Ledru.
Pourseformer.fr
Posted online on February 28, 2014.
