High-Impact Leadership: Train Managers in the Art of Decision Making

Use a systematic process to make optimal decisions.

Decision-making is recognized as a required leadership competency by most organizations. In fact, many persuasively argue that decision making is the essence of a manager’s job – particularly at the mid- to high level.

Most day-to-day decisions, often including operational decisions (e.g. “What should we say to customers about our new product?”) and tactical decisions (e.g. How should we market the new product line?”) are not important enough to undertake a thorough rational analysis. However, in the case of strategic decisions (e.g. “Should we merge with another company?”), as well as important operational and tactical decisions, a thorough rational analysis is called for. When coupled with an understanding of our inclinations toward irrationality – and tactics for avoiding those judgment traps and biases – it gives us the best opportunity to arrive at an optimal decision.Make the case for leadership training Discuss how to gain stakeholder buy-in for leadership training, the costs and benefits of internal vs. external training, and metrics to judge training success.Prepare for decision-making training Discuss logistics and content customization. Review the 360 tool and the decision making training deck.Evaluate training effectiveness Review training session results, as well as any suggested training modifications.

http://hr.mcleanco.com/research/ss/high-impact-leadership-train-managers-in-the-art-of-decision-making