You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen” by Michelle Obama.
In spite of the growth of robots & machines, the destiny of all companies relies on the shoulders of humans & at Learn Transformation. we believe that till we get to artificial super intelligence, the competitive quintessence supporting the largest start-ups & the bearing of the world’s most applauded companies will line up with the risk & distinction of their leaders. Let’s master Decision Making and Problem Solving skills.
What is Decision Making and Problem Solving Process?
Every organization drives decisions at one point or other as part of managerial process. Decisions are taken in the best profit of an organization & these decisions taken by an organization are to moderate the path ahead. Have being business activities, strategic or HR matters, decision making process is compounded, includes professionals of distinct categories.
Decision-making is an evaluative feature of both its adaptability to the present & its future success. It plays a big role as they discover both managerial & organizational activities, but how do we know whether we have made the right choice or not? In The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost wrote: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, & sorry I could not travel both…I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Good preference at deciding moments on deciding events strike the distinction for organizations, people & societies. Decision-making process is an essential part of present management. Infact, good sense of decision making is considered as key purpose of management. According to experts at Learn Transformation, Decision-making includes the choice of a route of action from among two or more possible substitutes for the sake of come at a solution for a given problem”.
As indicated by the former definition, process of decision making is a consolatory event done by a fraternization of professionals to lead better working of any organization. So, it is a constant & energetic activity that fill all other activities concerning to the organization. Seeing that cognitive minds are intricated in the decision-making process, it needs sound technical knowledge integrated with skills & experience as well mental maturity.
What are the Steps of Decision Making?
Decision making process consumes a lot of time. These defined steps offer an opportunity, at the end, to analyze whether the decision was the right one.
1. Identify the Decision
To make a decision, first identify the problem that you need to solve. It means find the purpose of your decision by asking yourself what precisely is the problem? And why does this problem need to be solved? If you are confused with the problem, you’ll strike the decision train off the track.
If you want to obtain a particular goal from your decision, make it quantifiable & timely so you know for sure that you achieve the goal at the end of the process. Also determine Will it truly bring a difference to our customers.
Leader’s Tip
Before making decisions or finding solutions to problems, gather pertinent information and seek out multiple viewpoints.
2. Gather Pertinent Information
Once decision is identified, it’s time to gather the information pertinent to that choice. Do an internal evaluation, to notice where your organization has triumphed & failed in areas related to your decision. Also, find information from external sources, including market research, and, in some cases, assessment from paid consultants. This will help you to better understand what needs to be done in solving the problem and will also help to produce ideas for a possible solution.
3. Identify the Alternatives
With pertinent information now at your hands, it’s time to find possible solutions to your problem. When it comes to making your decision, there is usually more than one option, so come up with a span of options – for example, if your company is trying to obtain more involvement on social media, your alternatives could include a change in your organic social media strategy, paid social advertisements or a combination of the two. This helps you decide which set of action is the best way to get your objective of lean transformation.
4. Weigh the Options
After you identified various alternatives, now you need to “evaluate for acceptability, practicability & eligibility” to find which alternative is best. Managers need to be able to weigh pros & cons, then select the best option. See what companies have done in the past to succeed in these areas & take a solid look at your own organization’s gains & losses. Identify possible risk for each of your alternatives & weigh those against the potential rewards. It may be helpful to hunt a trusted second opinion to achieve a new viewpoint on the issue.
5. Choose among Alternatives
It is the part of the decision-making process where you make your decision. Hopefully, you’ve identified & refined what decision requires to be made, collected all pertinent information, make sure that you understood all the risks involved with your chosen route. You may also choose a merger of alternatives now that you fully grip all pertinent information and possible risks. You are superbly ready to choose.
6. Plan & Execute
Once you’ve made your decision, act on it! Now you’ll need to create a plan for implementation. It involves finding what resources are needed & obtaining support from employees & stakeholders. Getting others onboard with your decision is a main component of executing your plan successfully, so get ready to talk about any questions
7. Review your Decision
After a preset amount of time—which you explained in step one of the decision-making process in management—take a sincere look back at your decision. Did you solve the problem? Have You meet your goals? Did you answer the question? If not, learn from your mistakes as you start the decision-making process again.
What are the Traits for Better Decision- making Skills?
1. Risk-Taking
Do you remember the first time, you started to drive? You steadily put the key. Then you slowly turned it, hearing the starter & waiting attentively to hear the engine come alive. You then switched into gear. But now, what do you do? For most of us, we simply start the car, back out of a parking space & go on our way without putting a snip of thought in the activity.
Regular business requires this type of sharpness so that when the day-to-day is interrupted, there is enough bandwidth to practice judgment. You can’t launch into a new industry, if you are tending each step like you did on that first drive. So make a daily habit of strolling into the unknown.
2. Humility
If things are going good within your areas of responsibility as a leader, it wasn’t only you who got you there. After all, you’re a leader who drive other people to get the objectives of decision making. On the contrary, if things are not going good, you likely have characteristics that need to be altered, people you trusted whom need to be coached or even replaced.
What’s more, you may need to turn to others & admit your current dilemma. If you can’t admit to yourself that you have mistakes, you cannot rub the slate clean to make the good judgments to get yourself out of the problem. The more mistakes you allow yourself to make, I believe the better leader you become.
Leader’s Tip
Adopt a growth attitude, take lessons from your mistakes, and keep improving your methods for making decisions and solving problems.
3. Fundamental Values
What are your organization’s fundamental values? How about your own? If you don’t know them, involve in an intentional exercise to find out. Knowing your fundamental values & studying them at least once per day is a magnificent way to utilize the judgment that will automatically get you closer to your goals.
4. Consult an Expert
It may be the chance that the decision which you’re making has been made in the past. While the problems you’re trying to solve are distinctive to you, it’s most likely that someone else has solved the same issue at a larger scale.
Luckily, entrepreneurs are very friendly & love to help each other. If you want to get an expert help, research the expert in the area you need help with & then send few of them a short message to ask for their help. Serve up your thoughts, the facts & the options you are considering which will help you to lead a better business transformation.
What is Problem Solving Process?
Problems are chance in disguise! When most people think about problems, they draw a bunch of negativities that will in time bury them. However, that’s not an instance. Problems are at the middle of work for what most of the people do every day. Problems are an inescapable part of life with some merits of their own. Of the various things they do, problems make sure constant learning, help us think distinctly, and build our confidence.
The problems you tackle can be easy or complex, big or small, and simple or difficult which you solve for a client – external or internal. Possessing good, powerful Problem-solving expertise can bring all the difference in your profession. An essential part of manager’s job is discovering path to tackle any problem. So, if you’re an optimistic problem solver, then it is genuinely important to your success.
Problem solving is the function of defining a problem; discovering the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing & selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution.
What are the Steps in the Problem-Solving Process?
There are four basic steps in solving a problem:
1. Define the Problem
The clue to good problem solving is that make sure you are focusing on the problem, not its symptoms. Some tools like 5 Whys, Root Cause Analysis, flow charts help you to really expose the problem.
The segment below help you to explain key problem-solving steps. These steps keep up the engagement of attentive parties, collation of expectations to reality, the use of accurate information and concentration on root causes of a problem. You should start by:
- Evaluating & recording how processes presently work (i.e., who does what, using what tools, with what information, interacting with what individuals & organizations, using what format & in what time frame).
- Assessing the likely effect of revised policies & new tools in the development of your “what should be” model in VUCA.
Characteristics
- Convert fact from opinion.
- Specify underlying causes.
- Define the problem particularly.
- Find what expectation or standard is breached.
- Identify in which process the problem resides.
2. Develop Feasible Solutions
Do not select only one solution until various problem-solving alternatives have been suggested. All in all having many alternatives remarkably amplify the worth of your perfect solution. Uplift creativity in your team. Some creativity approaches are Brainstorming, design thinking, team problem-solving techniques & many more.
Possible solutions to the problem should be produced prior to closing judgement. A general mistake in problem solving is that alternatives are assessed as they are suggested, so the foremost bearable solution is picked, even if it’s not the perfectly apt.
Characteristics
- Involve all individuals in the generating of alternatives.
- Identify alternatives compatible with organizational goals.
- Identify short & long-term alternatives.
- Find alternatives that may solve the problem.
Read Also: What is Leadership Transformation? | 7 Steps
3. Evaluating & Selecting Alternative
Expert problem solvers use a sequence of thought when choosing the best alternative. They consider:
- A specific alternative will solve the problem without causing other sudden problems.
- Everyone engaged will welcome the alternative.
- The alternative apt within the organizational restrictions.
Characteristics
- Assess problem solving alternatives relative to a target standard.
- Assess all alternatives without partiality.
- Assess both proven & possible outcomes.
4. Implementing Solutions
Leaders may ask others to implement the solution. Engaging others in the implementation is a successful way to achieve buy-in & support and minimize resistance to successive changes. Nevertheless, how the solution is jumped, feedback channels should be built into the implementation. This permits for consistent monitoring & testing of real occurrence against expectations.
Characteristics
- Plan & implement a trial test of the chosen problem solving alternative.
- Collect feedback from all affected parties.
- Establish ongoing measures & monitoring.
- Evaluate long-term results based on final solution.
Check out the Video
What are Problem Solving Skills?
1. Sound Technical Proficiency & Experience
The best problem solvers either had sound proficiency & experience themselves or access to others with that proficiency & experience. Steve Jobs is a great example of someone who depend on the sound proficiency of others. Steve Jobs had the vision & ideas, but lacked the sound technical proficiency. In Apple’s starting days it was Steve Wozniak who had the engineering skills to build the machines—but it was Jobs’ vision that shoved the boundaries of what could be done.
A notable problem that gets in the way of intelligent individuals is their wish to be the only spring of expertise & knowledge. Now a days problems are more composite, more difficult to solve. They require group knowledge & expertise. Be frank with others’ expertise amplifies your capability to be a great problem solver.
2. Wide Focus Rather Than Restricted Focus
The best problem solvers have a wide focus, with a superb understanding of organizational strategy & direction which helps them to achieve successful transformation.
3. Question the Problem frequently with “Why?”
To solve a problem, first you have to define it. To do so, start by asking yourself, “Why did this problem happen? Investigate on your answer with another “Why?” Keep going until you find the root cause.
4. Always be inclined to Learn
Even if you’re the most skilled person on the planet, know that there’s always room for improvement. One of the best ways to learn is by imitating others. For example, when I’m trying to fulfill a particular goal or tackle a problem, I do the research & find the best people in that field, even if they are competitors. I glance what they have done, what has worked & their principles. I’ve just followed the same steps that have already been taken, modifying them to my situation & requirements.
5. Admirable Social Skills
We have this image in mind that a great problem solver is one isolating themselves from others but in the end comes up with a brilliant idea. But this is never the scenario. The most fruitful scientists at Bell Labs were outstanding at networking with others & had strong communication skills. Great solutions come from combining your ideas with those of others to find a better solution. Excellent problem solvers develop networks & know how to cooperate with other people and teams. An essential expertise for great problem solvers is that they achieve the belief of others.
Your ability to solve problems will greatly enhance when you utilize these skills. Always remember that problem solving is finest done as a team sport, may be you have to share credit—but doing so will also uplift others’ intuition of your ability to problem solve as well.
Final Thought
In each & every decision and action, you are either moving forward or backward. Develop & always move forward. Go out of your way to take risks. Have the strength to be humble & be patient. There, you will find the charm of course good judgment.
FAQs
What is decision-making and problem-solving?
Decision-making is an evaluative feature of both its adaptability to the present & its future success. It plays a big role as they discover both managerial & organizational activities, but how do we know whether we have made the right choice or not? Problems are chance in disguise! When most people think about problems, they draw a bunch of negativities that will in time bury them.
How do you master decision-making?
Traits for Better Decision- making Skills.
1. Risk-Taking
2. Humility
3. Fundamental Values
Key Takeaways
- Making timely and well-informed decisions requires evaluating options, balancing risks, and taking effects into account.
- Identifying the sources of a problem, coming up with solutions, putting those answers into practise, and assessing the results are all steps in a methodical problem-solving process.
- Enhancing decision-making and problem-solving skills through the cultivation of critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability promotes leadership greatness.