Managers with a technical background can be very analytical when it comes to making decisions. But when you don’t feel like you have enough data to make an analytical decision and the pressure starts to rise, you can often experience what Dan Harrison calls “flip behavior.” Abandoning your analytical strength, you can flip under pressure to rely completely on intuition.
I know what this feels like. I’ve made my share of sudden gut decisions without effective socialization when the pressure was on and I didn’t have enough data to satisfy my analytical brain.
But a strong leader will learn to use both analysis and intuition together to make high-quality decisions when situations are unclear. Here are some ways that may play out.
🔵 Involve other people in the discussions and invite their feedback while you still remain uncertain. Don’t feel the responsibility to figure everything out on your own first.
🔵 Use your analysis to identify assumptions and risks. When you share your thoughts with others, share your uncertainties and call out the risks you’ve identified.
🔵 Recognize which decisions are more reversible than others. The less expensive or painful it will be to change your mind later, the more risk you can take in making a decision with less data.
🔵 When you feel the need to gather more data, consider what it would take to change your decision. Be honest about how likely it is that what you learn would be significant enough to change your mind.
🔵 Consider the cost of delay vs. the cost of an imperfect decision. Be deliberate in setting a time at which you must decide.
If you’d like to strengthen your decision making skills and habits so you can become the manager your team needs, let’s talk. Visit stevedwire.com/talk to start the conversation.
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