Issue 29: Decision-Making Under Pressure

"You cannot make progress without making decisions."

-Jim Rohn

Welcome to our twenty-ninth edition!

As we start ramping up for the fall and all it brings with it (performance reviews, budgeting, annual planning, and more fun) decision-making under pressure is a critical skill for leaders. Making informed and effective decisions in high-stress situations can significantly impact your team’s success. Here are three strategies (and a bonus!) to help you improve your decision-making under pressure.

5-MINUTE STRATEGY

Making Informed Decisions Under Pressure

• Strategy 1: Prioritize and Simplify

  When under pressure, take 5 minutes to prioritize tasks by importance and urgency. Take another 5 minutes to break down each complex decision into smaller, manageable parts. Prioritizing tasks and breaking down  decisions help reduce overwhelm and allow for clearer thinking when you're low on time. 

• Strategy 2: Use Decision-Making Frameworks

  Introduce and practice decision-making frameworks like the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or the simple Pros and Cons list. These tools provide structure and clarity when making tough decisions. No need to complicate things - just select one decision-making framework and work it all the way through. I'm including a link to our past newsletter issues that break down my favorite decision-making frameworks. Specifically issues 13 through 19 are frameworks you'll want to add to your toolkit.

• Strategy 3: Seek Input from Your Team

  Don’t hesitate to involve your team in the decision-making process. We often shy away and are told working with others slows things down but I recommend testing it for yourself. When time is of the essence, a 15 minute brainstorming session can help you validate the problem and start to surface new perspectives.  Your team will  enjoy having their expertise tapped for important topics. Plus, diverse perspectives provide valuable insights and help you make more balanced decisions.

• BONUS: Sit with the question

  My favorite start to any decision-making process, especially under pressure, is to sit with the question or problem for 5 minutes. We have a natural almost knee-jerk tendency to start answering before we even know what we're answering. Resist the tendency and instead, just sit with the question.

  At the end of the 5 minutes you will have depth and clarity that you would have missed without fully understanding what you're solving for.

Why this matters:

Effective decision-making under pressure helps you lead confidently and maintain team momentum. The quality of your decision-making matters. By using these strategies, you can make more informed, strategic decisions and mitigate the risks associated with high-stress situations.

Next week's preview

Next week, we’ll start discussing some of the top mistakes I see among leaders (including my own mistakes!), why we make them, and what to do instead.

Until our next issue, practice these decision-making strategies and enhance your leadership effectiveness under pressure.

Go out there and lead,

Asia

PS: Need to improve decision-making under pressure? Schedule a consultation today to explore strategies and coaching that can help you and your team make better decisions in high-stress situations.