Decision Making Traps
Posted on September 10, 2008
Filed Under Coaching, Leadership, Management |
Executive Coaching For Decision Making - Decision Making Traps
By Maynard Brusman
Decision Making Traps Traps
Are you working in an organization where leaders are good at making decisions? Are the leaders in your organization able to frame problems to develop effective solutions?
One of the most powerful questions one can ask oneself is Do I make good decisions or fall into psychological traps? Inspiring leaders with good judgment make good decisions.
Are you able to avoid faulty thinking? Do you distort your reasoning ability? Are you able to make better decisions by being aware of your biases?
Before making an important decision, prudent managers evaluate the situations confronting them. They often fall into one of the eight traps of faulty thinking. Some managers are too optimistic and overconfident: They overestimate success and underestimate the range of potential outcomes. On the flipside, other managers are cautious to a fault: They take costly steps to defend against unlikely outcomes.
These are just two of the well-documented psychological traps that ensnare most managers at some point in their careers. Other pitfalls that distort our reasoning abilities and cater to our biases are identified in the classic 1998 Harvard Business Review article The Hidden Traps in Decision Making, by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney and Howard Raiffa:
• We have a tendency to stick with the status quo.
• We only look for evidence that confirms our preferences.
• We are likely to throw good money after bad to defend our position and avoid admitting a mistake.
The way a problem is framed can influence how you develop solutions. To avoid this trap, you need to reframe the question in various ways to see how your thinking may change based on each version.
It is not always possible to avoid the distortions ingrained in the way our minds work, but we can build in tests to make our decision-making processes more reliable, thus improving the quality of the choices we make.
The Brain Science of Decisions
The inherent functions of the human brain can sabotage our decisions. It takes enormous energy to consciously work through possibilities and risks, so the brain looks for shortcuts. We use unconscious routines, known as heuristics, to cope with complexity and they normally serve us well. But because they operate largely out of our awareness, they also present traps.
Researchers have identified a series of flaws in the way we think when making decisions. They are hardwired into our thinking process, so we often fail to recognize them. This means they can undermine everything from new product development to acquisitions and divestiture strategy to succession planning.
While we cannot entirely rid ourselves of these ingrained flaws, we can learn to understand the traps and compensate for them. The best defense is awareness.
Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a leader who avoids psychological traps and makes good decisions. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.
Subscribe to Working Resources FREE electronic newsletter at http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard’s Blog at http://www.WorkingResourcesBlog.com
Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted
We provide strategic talent management solutions to select and develop emotionally intelligent leaders and lawyers.
The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded two rare “Board Approved” designations for Dr. Maynard Brusman in the specialties of Executive/Leadership Coaching and Trusted Advisor to Attorneys and Law Firms.
Dr. Maynard Brusman
Working Resources
P.O. Box 471525 San Francisco, California 94147-1525
Tel: 415-546-1252 Fax: 415-721-7322
E-mail: mbrusman@workingresources.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maynard_Brusman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Executive-Coaching-For-Decision-Making—Decision-Making-Traps&id=1461521
Comments
Leave a Reply
-
Mission
“We take the complex and make it plain and simple - giving you insights and strategies that you can use”.
-
Search
-
Admin
