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Getting Clarity in Decision Making
Written by: Bradley FosterArticle Overview: Good decision making is important for effective leadership and career success. Good decisions, made in a timely manner can make all the difference to your success. Poor decisions court failure, affecting your status and leadership of your own life. Bradley Foster takes your through a couple tools that will help you get clarity even in the midst of some of the most difficult decisions.
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Getting Clarity in Decision Making
By far, the most frequent issue clients come to see me
about has to do with problems making decisions. Sometimes the decisions are
career related, sometimes they are personal, but they are always crucially
important to my clients’ future and they are frequently accompanied by
confusion and anxiety. No wonder they are feeling indecisive.
The stress of making a major decision often brings up emotions my clients don’t
want to face. For instance, the prospect of having to fire an employee might
remind my client of when she was summarily dismissed from her first job.
Unresolved issues can lead to anxiety, confusion and destabilization. Anxiety
often leads to sleeplessness and host of other symptoms that causes secondary
stress. Making a decision under these circumstances would be difficult for
anyone.
Good decision making is important for effective leadership and career success.
Good decisions, made in a timely manner can make all the difference to your
success. Poor decisions court failure, affecting your status and leadership of
your own life.
One of the most effective tools I use with these clients is to ask them to
create a list of pros and cons to help clarify the dilemma in their mind. This
is such a simple technique but one that never fails to point to the right
decision.
My job as a coach is to bring creativity, clarity and focus to my client’s
problems. When Linda came to see me about whether she should accept an early
retirement package or continue working for the media company she works for, she
was extremely anxious and nervous about making the decision. No wonder. Linda
had worked there for twenty-five years and it was her life. She was tempted to
take the package but she was worried about losing her friends, her social life,
and her reason for getting up in the morning. She was deeply divided.
Skills Inventory
I asked her to keep an open mind to any and all possibilities. Is it possible
her dilemma isn’t as black and white as she perceives it? I asked her to write
down everything she is good at and things she is not particularly good at. I
then asked her to write down what she loves and hates about her job—even people
she likes to work with or not. As we discussed her work she wrote it down as a
pro or a con. For home work, I asked her to make a list of all the things she
might like to do if she opted for early retirement. I asked her to make a list
of the pros and cons of each option. We discussed some options and agreed to
meet a week later.
Relief
When I talked to Linda a week later she had already made up her mind. Writing
down the pros and cons of each option not only helped her make up her mind but
she was instantly relieved of anxiety and uncertainty and she could sleep
soundly again.
Writing a list of pros and cons can help bring clarity to any decision. In the
end she decided to take the package and volunteer as a media consultant to environmental
groups because she has very strong values about helping others, a commitment to
the environment, a need to be valued and a she needed to have a social
workplace.
Linda also decided to hang out her shingle as a media consultant to keep her
skills sharp and to bring in extra income. The relief on Linda’s face said it
all. She was comfortable with her decision because the uncertainty of her
future had dissolved. She was now sure about her course.
Using the right tools and some creative input helped Linda come to the best
decision on her own. Rather than seeing the problem in an either/or situation,
Linda saw that there were plenty of opportunities waiting for her and that she
is still valued. She realized she would still have her friends and with luck
she would be greeted back as a consultant. Contributing to a cause she
passionately believes in will bring her what she wants at this stage in
life—satisfaction and being valued. She confided that making this decision was
the hardest thing she has done in years but with coaching she was able to see
exactly what she wanted for herself.
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About the Author: Bradley Foster RSS for Bradley's articles - Visit Bradley's website  I offer professional coaching services in the following areas: career/executive/business/leadership/life/writing/relationships and creativity. I help individuals and executives define and get in step with their stated goals and values. I'm an experienced coach, having worked with hundreds of clients over the past five years, coming to coaching from a business background and as a trained therapist. My clients and I work to close the gap between who or what they say they are, or want to be, and who or what they actually are now, as expressed by their actions. I'm also a writer, and communications consultant. I have published dozens of articles in North American newspapers, websites and magazines and for Reuters and Thomson Newspapers over the past twenty years. I published a book on self-coaching with co-author, psychologist and coach, Dr. Stephen Renfrey, called Deep Coaching: A Guide to Self Directed Living. I am currently writing a book on creative life strategies. I write a monthly career column called Ask The Coach in Job Postings magazine. I also write articles and have a blog I update every week. I recently published an article on the boundary between therapy and coaching in Choice Magazine, the premier coaching journal. I am a successful entrepreneur, business development executive, and business and communication consultant before turning to executive and life coaching full-time. I have an MA from The University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science from the McGill University. I also attended The Ontario College of Art, Columbia University and I have a three year certificate in Leadership and Psychotherapy from the Gestalt Institute of Toronto. I received coach training from the Gestalt Institute and the Coach Training Institute. The breadth of my experience and the training I've done ensures that you'll get insight, clarity and direction from me. Click here to visit Bradley's website   Successful Goal Setting Resolve to stop making resolutions Authentic Leadership Making New Years Resolutions That Stick Being Genuine Stop Being Nice Start Being Real A Book Review |
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Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming
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Thanks
Robert
Re: Clarity Trumps Persuasion
- Jeff,
Thanks, great stuff !!!
Clarity or "KEEP IT SIMPLE" is probably the best advice anyone can ever give or get when involved in any business or personal situation.
Over 30 years of manufacturing ladies apparel has taught me two critical business lessons:
1-You will never get a 100% perfect outcome so In the BEGINNING,take your time, exhaust all your resources and energy and plan, plan, plan. . . If it STARTS off right it you'll get close to the desired outcome.
2-Keep it simple
I now will add "Clarity" to my formula for success.
CLARITY AND KEEPING IT SIMPLE BREEDS SUCCESS . . . .
I know the advice above is simple but isn't that what it's all about.
Thanks Ringo, This information not only was great for my website but it reminded me that "keeping it simple and clear" got me and my teams through some wicked situations
Best wishes
Barry
Making Money in 2011
- Hello forum members! As we draw closer to the new year I thought it would be appropriate to change the title of our forum category "Making Money in 2010" to "Making Money in 2011" - I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions and wish everyone a prosperous New Year!
Re: Clarity Trumps Persuasion
- Wow, I would really recommend everyone to go through the presentation.
It's not so much that it's new information, but their presentation simply reaffirms in a concise way what we know about marketing and sales conversion.
Clarity trumps persuasion indeed!
Re: Subject line Etiquette
- [quote="jvprosperity":b50c4a20]Another email rant:
Is there some place on the internet that outlines proper "Subject line" headings?
There mus be a system out there that people use to be more efficient email senders. Not everything that comes into my mail box requires my immediate attention.
I would love to educate myself and the people who send me emails on proper subject lines.
Maybe something like:
"Urgent Review: <<Title of document>>"
"Decision Required: "<<Subject matter>>"
just something for me to quickly scan the subject lines and decide which ones need my immediate attention.
Anyone know of such email standards that exist out there?[/quote:b50c4a20]
The only messages I get that say Urgent or Decision Required etc are spam. I tell people to put something relevant to their business with me in the subject line - this is especially important for the people who fall into my junk mail.
Chris
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