The online Harvard Business Review of September 1, 2014 contains an article by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman on the habits that lead to terrible decisions (Find it Here). They studies over 50,000 leaders and compared the behaviour of those perceived to be making poor decisions with those perceived to be making very good decisions. In doing so, 9 factors emerged that were most common to poor decision making. In order of most to least significant, these are:
- Laziness (failure to check facts, confirm assumptions etc.)
- Not anticipating unexpected events
- Indecisiveness
- Remaining locked in the past
- Having no strategic alignment
- Over-dependence
- – 9. You will need to read the article to find out!
A challenge for you is to realistically assess your decision-making habits against these factors. Keeping in mind what these pitfalls are will help you as a leader be a more effective decision-maker.
The Avondale Business School can help you and your team develop leadership skills – find out how by contacting Warrick Long at the Avondale Business School.
P: 02 4980 2168