Decision Making Training: Process, Models and Skills for Managers

If you haven't already come across it, you will at some point in your management career: an important decision that simply doesn't get made. Sometimes it's a colleague or your boss who's stuck. Sometimes it's you.

Good decision making isn't a talent some managers are born with. It's a set of skills, models and habits anyone can learn. This guide covers the decision making process, the models and techniques that help, the traps to avoid, and six practical questions you can use today to help someone else reach a decision.

What is the decision making process?

The decision making process is a structured way of moving from a problem to an action. Most effective decisions follow seven steps:

1. Identify the decision. Be clear about exactly what needs deciding, and by when.

2. Gather information. What do you know, what don't you know, and who else should be involved?

3. Identify the alternatives. List the realistic options, including doing nothing.

4. Weigh the evidence. Consider the risks, benefits and impact of each option on stakeholders.

5. Choose. Select the best option, accepting that perfect information rarely exists.

6. Take action. Communicate the decision and put it into practice.

7. Review. Check the outcome and learn from it for next time.

Decision making techniques for better results

Models give you a framework. Techniques help you think more clearly inside it.

• Weighted decision matrix: score each option against weighted criteria to compare them objectively.

• Pros and cons, with weighting: a simple list, but give each point a score from 1 to 5 so the big factors stand out.

• Pre-mortem: imagine the decision has failed a year from now and ask "why?". It surfaces risks people are reluctant to raise.

• Six thinking hats: look at the decision from six perspectives (facts, feelings, risks, benefits, creativity and process) one at a time.

• 10/10/10: how will you feel about this decision in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years?

Indecision is a decision

At work, there will be times when you need a decision from someone else. It might be a commitment from a team member who is performing below par and needs to raise their game. Or it might be your boss, who has a hundred decisions to make and senior stakeholders to please, so the decision you need keeps getting delayed.

An unwillingness to decide is a decision in itself, and usually not a good one. The questions below help unblock it.

Decision making questions you can use today

1. "What information do you need, from me or elsewhere, to make a decision today?"

This helps the person think about what they need rather than what you're offering, and makes them more "response-able" for their own thinking.

2. "If you had already made the best decision on this, what information and factors would you have considered?"

This puts them in the position of having already decided, which is a different way of thinking. Acting as if is a very effective thinking technique.

3. "Could you help me understand what's stopping you from making a decision or approving mine?"

This unblocks thinking and may draw out sensitive information or a blind spot.

4. "If your manager were advising you on a decision that's good for all stakeholders, what would they recommend?"

This gets the person to consider what their boss would and wouldn't support. Bear in mind that people often defer to authority, so make sure the decision isn't made purely on position in the structure chart.

5. "What's currently stopping you from making a good decision now?"

The reason may be internal ("I'm not feeling confident" or "If I get this wrong, my boss will go crazy") or external ("The data I need isn't available yet" or "The deadline is still two hours away"). Once you know which, you can explore it in more detail.

6. "What would your most trusted colleague advise if they knew about this situation?"

This creates head space. Bringing in a trusted third party helps the person see their situation more clearly, with less emotion and fear.

The decision making skills leaders need

Strong decision makers combine:

• Analytical thinking: breaking a problem down and weighing evidence objectively.

• Emotional intelligence: recognising when fear, ego or stress is driving a choice. Read more about emotional intelligence coaching for executives.

• Problem solving: defining the real problem before jumping to solutions. See our problem solving training.

• Courage: deciding with incomplete information when waiting costs more.

• Communication: explaining the decision so people understand it and act on it.

Common decision making traps

• Confirmation bias: looking only for information that supports what you already believe.

• Anchoring: relying too heavily on the first number or idea you hear.

• Sunk cost: sticking with a failing course because of what's already been invested.

• Groupthink: a team agreeing to avoid conflict rather than because it's the right answer.

• Analysis paralysis: waiting for perfect information that will never arrive.

Help people think for themselves

If you want people to make better decisions, and to make them faster, give them the time and space to think for themselves. The questions above do exactly that. Rather than telling someone what to do, they help them find their own answer, which they're far more likely to commit to.

Decision making training for managers

Summit's decision making training helps managers and leaders make better decisions under pressure, and help their teams do the same. Our decision making workshops cover:

• the decision making process and when to use which model

• practical techniques for complex and high-stakes decisions

• recognising and avoiding bias

• coaching questions that help others decide

Courses are delivered in-house, online or at our venues and tailored to your organisation.