Chicken or beef?

Wouldn’t it be great if all leadership decisions were as simple as choosing which entrée you’d like? But as you know all too well, most business decisions carry greater weight and are much more convoluted:

Take on a huge client that doesn’t quite fit your strengths…or take a pass?

Stay the course…or pivot your business?

Hire more employees…or outsource a function?

As an executive, the decisions you make impact your employees, customers, stakeholders, and sometimes even the world at large. No pressure there, right? And when the stakes are high, time is of the essence, and you have several equally good (or equally bad) options, making sound decisions becomes even more challenging. And more vital.

There is no “magic formula” for making effective, high-stakes decisions, but you can use these four tips to consistently make the smartest choices:

Get Comfortable with Being a Little Uncomfortable

When you have to make decisions based on limited or conflicting information, don’t let the lack of clarity paralyze you. Nobody has a crystal ball (well, not one that can predict the future, anyway), and making decisions in the face of uncertainty is simply part of doing business. The best leaders are comfortable with take calculated risks – and the only way to gain that comfort level is through practice.

Breathe

This one sounds simple (because it is), but it’s extremely effective. When an important business decision creates a pressure-cooker environment, press the pause button and take a moment to calm your mind. Closing your eyes and taking a few slow, deep breaths engages your parasympathetic nervous system. Focused breathing not only calms your nerves, it gets your mind out of reactive mode and into responsive mode – which allows you to engage the higher order brain functions that yield better decisions.

Apply the “4R” Test

Once you’ve gathered available intelligence and laid out your options, consider the following questions to determine your best course of action:

• What will you regret if you fail to take any action at all? The higher the potential regret, the sooner you should make a choice.
• How tough will it be to reverse course? The easier a decision is to repeal, the faster you should make it.
• What will the repercussions be? The broader the impact, the more carefully you need to tread.
• How will the decision impact your organization’s resilience? Give more weight to decision options that will build your company’s resilience.

Avoid Binary Thinking

Making tough decisions in high-pressure situations typically intensifies caution and limits creative thinking. Instead of framing options with yes/no questions, take the blinders off. Assemble a cross-functional team to examine the issue; fresh perspectives may lead to new alternatives you hadn’t previously considered.

Make a Great Decision: Make Exact Staff Your Staffing Partner!

Whether you need to engage great decision-makers or give yourself more time to focus on decision-making, the experts at your local Exact Staff office are ready to help.