Avoiding Errors in Decision-Making

A sound decision making process is often critical to success. Yet there are recurrent errors in thinking that can sabotage new supervisors and managers. As a business leader you need to make time for a thoughtful analysis of these errors as well as to provide new supervisor training that alerts your managers to these pitfalls.

Avoid costly mistakes to your business by watching out for the following errors in thinking for new managers and supervisors:

• Too strong a focus on short-term business results without considering long-term consequences
• Undervaluing the benefit of “generalist” leaders who welcome a breadth of ideas, perspectives and goals as opposed to “specialist” leaders with a narrow focus
• Leaning too far toward alignment and teamwork if it discourages a healthy mix of ideas and principles

See that your meetings and decision-making processes invite questions on assumptions, a variety of opinions, and substantiation of proposals with data and logic.