moving past roadblocks to make sound decisions

Copyright © Psychological Associates® 2013 1.0x

Moving Past Roadblocksto Make Sound Decisions

Thomas D. Brooks, Ph.D.Executive Vice President, Professional Services

September 10, 2013

Copyright © Psychological Associates® 2013

Our Objective Today is Three-Fold Connect with St. Louis professionals

Share some information about Psychological Associates

Give you tools and strategies to make sound decisions in a timely manner

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50+ years working with top organizations

Worldwide reachPh.D. staffProprietary behavioral techniques

and practices– Assessments and 360° Surveys– Leadership Development and Executive

Coaching

About Us


What is a Decision? The cognitive process of selecting a course

of action from among multiple alternatives

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Are Decisions Important?

“Choices are the hinges of destiny.” ~ Pythagoras

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Do We Learn from Decisions?

“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.” ~ Unknown Author

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The average adult makes thousands of decisions each day, many of them trivial–Where will I sit?

–What will I wear?

Decisions, Decisions…

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Some factors are organizational like culture and politics

Some are impacted by behavior and interpersonal style

Decisions, Decisions…


Decision No. 1 2 teams of people– Client: Wanted the decision to go their way

– Vendor: Had serious concerns

Go-no-go decision Nothing bad had happened before, so why

now? Ineffective communication Client had deadlines to meet and pressures

from above Vendor eventually gave in to the Client

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Decision No. 1 – The ResultThe Challenger space shuttle launched as

scheduled on January 28, 1986, and exploded 73 seconds later.

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Decision No. 2 Extreme employee turnover rate Low productivity Decision: How to keep people working? Evaluated why people were leaving Calculated all options and consequences Collaborated with others for their input Made educated decision

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Decision No. 2 – The ResultHenry Ford doubled pay to $5/day, cut

hours, and added shifts Annual labor turnover fell from 370% to

16% Productivity was up 40% to 70% Price of the Model T went down and Henry

Ford became a billionaire

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Common Roadblocks to Good Decisions “Do it my way”

“We have always done it this way”

“I don’t have all the information”

“It’s not my job to decide”

“I’m afraid to make a decision”

“We have to make a quick decision”

“The potential consequences will never really happen”

“Let’s do what will make everyone else happy”

…and the dreaded no decision at all13


Problem & Consequence

Influence Behavior

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Dimensional™ Model of Behavior®

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INITIATESTake control, seize initiative, assume leadership,

assertive

AVOIDSYield, give in easily, passive

LOW RESPECT

Lack of regard for others, distrust,

insensitivity, unresponsiveness

HIGH RESPECT

Regard for others, trust, sensitivity,

responsiveness



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Q3Q2

Q4Q1

INITIATES

AVOIDS

LO

W R

ES

PEC

TH

IGH

RES

PEC

T



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Q3• Overly

agreeable• Meandering• Appeasing• Compromises

quickly• Overly friendly

Q2• Aloof• Unresponsive• Cautious• Neutral• Guarded

Q4• Forceful• Open• Inquiring• Task-oriented• Responsive

Q1• Tell-and-do• Demanding• My way• Seizes control• Forces ideas

INITIATES

AVOIDS

LO

W R

ES

PEC

TH

IGH

RES

PEC

T


Common Roadblocks to Good Decisions

“Do it my way”

“I’m afraid to make a decision”

“Let’s do what will make everyone else happy”

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The Cautious Decision Maker (Q2)

Aloof

Unresponsive

Neutral

Guarded

Don’t rock the boat

High need for security

By the book

Unassertive

Indecisive

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Working with the Cautious Decision Maker

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Open

Get the Other Person’s Views

Share Your Views

Manage the Differences in

Views

Develop a Decision

1. Explain the situation and build their trust

2. Use open-ended questions to find out what he/she thinks – be patient and don’t interrogate the person

3. Summarize what he/she has said and address any concerns you might have – stress the benefits

4. Discuss the differences in views

5. Work out a decision together based on your conversation


What are the Results?

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Improved mutual accountability

Shared ownership of the decision

Better relationship

Sense of involvement

Fosters trust

Feeling of security


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“A ‘No’ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes’

merely uttered to please, or worse,

to avoid trouble.”~ Mahatma Gandhi

moving past roadblocks to make sound decisions

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