Ask any coach of a success-ful sports team what makes his or herteam a winner, and high on the list ofanswers will inevitably be one factor:depth—having players on the teamwho, up and down the lineup, canstep in, step up, and get the job donewhen called on. The same is true oforganizations, whatever their size.Having a management team whosemembers, from top to bottom, areadept at making decisions is crucialfor reaching an organization’s fullpotential. The decision-making capa-bilities of a management team almostalways have a direct effect on profits,sales, the ability to execute agendasand strategies, and thus the overallsuccess of an organization.

Education, knowledge, and experi-ence alone do not make a manager agood decision maker. It doesn’t justhappen; it takes hard work and a will-ingness to learn from others and takerisks. Decision making is like anyother skill; the more you practice anduse it, the better a decision makeryou will become.

Companies can increase theirdecision-making depth by establish-ing creative decision-making groups.Consisting of department heads andup-and-coming managers from differ-ent divisions, these groups can helpmanagers get to know themselves asdecision makers, develop better

problem-solving tools, and acquire theintuition, insights, and skills needed tobecome master decision makers.Group members can work togetherface to face, by teleconference, or vir-tually through the Internet.

Creative decision-making groupscan help managers examine them-selves and learn how they typicallyreact in a variety of situations.

Managers can ascertain the way theytend to make decisions—whetherthey favor a fast, cut-and-driedapproach, for instance, or whetherthey stay with the plan at all costs orprefer looking at a problem from sev-eral angles and keeping their optionsopen. Some managers want to gatheras much information as possible inorder to find the best solution andwill take their time doing it. Othermanagers use creativity to examineall options and take the approach thatnothing is written in stone.

In general, decisions that are pri-marily emotional responses are notlikely to adequately address problemsand lead to positive results. Effectivedecision makers do not allow theiremotions to control their decisions.

They understand their emotions andhave learned to recognize how thoseemotions affect their decision mak-ing. Knowing how they react in dif-ferent situations, they don’t let theirgut reactions overly influence thedecisions they make. Creative deci-sion-making groups that providefeedback can help managers gaininsights into how they react emotion-ally in different situations. Suchgroups can also make managersaware of any bad decision-makinghabits they may have, such as notusing the right information, conduct-ing inadequate evaluations, havingtunnel vision, making incorrect calcu-lations, and not taking the right stepsto fully understand the problem.

There are a variety of decision-making styles available to managers.After getting to know and understandthemselves as decision makers, man-agers can evaluate which decision-making style is best to use to solve agiven problem. For example, someproblems call for a flexible approach,whereas others require a decisiveapproach. A creative decision-makinggroup allows managers to view thedifferent styles that other group mem-bers display and how those styles areused to make decisions. This can helpmanagers to better understand thedecision-making process and gaininsight into the specific styles that arebest for solving specific types of prob-lems, and vice versa. For example, if amanager prefers an analytical style, heor she might learn that applying thatstyle to an essentially simple problemis likely to result in getting boggeddown and taking more time than nec-essary to make the decision.

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Reader Forum

Creating Master Decision MakersDavid S. Goldsmith

Knowing the right ques-

tions to ask helps man-

agers find the right

answers and make the

right decisions.

Editor’s note: Reader Forum is anopportunity for subscribers to Leadershipin Action to offer ideas and opinionsabout LiA articles or any issues of prac-tical importance to leaders. Submissionscan be e-mailed to lia@ccl.org.

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Once managers are able to assesswhich styles are best suited for solv-ing different types of problems, theycan choose the style that will bestachieve the solution to the problem athand, then organize and manage thedecision-making process until theyreach the desired outcome. As man-agers progress in their careers andtake on more responsibilities, theproblems they face become morecomplex and challenging. Managerswho do not adjust their style andkeep making decisions the way theyalways have in the past inevitablyrisk putting their careers in jeopardy.

To ascertain which decision-making style to use in a specific situ-ation, it is important to fully under-stand the problem. One techniquethat can be used effectively in cre-ative decision-making groups is fram-ing the problem. Groups can choose aproblem, and group members canthen discuss their personal interpreta-tions of it and the reasons why theyreached those conclusions.

Different managers tend to interpretthe same problem in different ways.One manager might view a problem interms of what can be gained, whereasanother might view the same problemin terms of what can be lost. Anotherimportant factor is whether a managertends to present problems in a positiveor negative frame. Experience matterstoo. In most cases a junior manager’sview of a problem will be far differentfrom a senior executive’s view. Eachmanager’s interpretation will affecthow he or she perceives, evaluates, andapproaches solving a problem. Anindividual’s personality can also affecthow he or she sees, evaluates, andapproaches a problem.

After framing the problem thenext step is finding out what informa-tion is needed to solve the problemand how to obtain this information.Decision making is not an exact sci-ence, and when managers are notaware of all the resources available tothem, they may make forecasts basedon incomplete information.

Creative decision-making groupscan help managers develop the syner-gies needed to access informationand insights from other managers,which leads to better decisions. Inorganizations with entrenched silos,where managers are isolated fromone another, the free flow of informa-tion is prevented, hindering managersfrom making the best decisions.Effective decision makers do nothave tunnel vision as they gather anduse information. They know not onlywhat information they need but alsohow to obtain, evaluate, and use thatinformation. Creative decision-mak-ing groups provide in-depth insightsinto what other department managersdeem to be important information.

There will be times when man-agers believe they are using the rightstyle, framing the problem correctly,and obtaining the right information,and yet they still don’t reach a satis-factory outcome. Creative decision-making groups can help managers diga little deeper to discover and removedecision-making obstacles. Thesegroups can use brainstorming, forexample, as an effective tool forunlocking the imagination. It can alsobe a great way to develop problem-solving skills and come up with cre-ative solutions. In brainstorming ses-sions, managers can discussproblems, ask questions, and openthemselves up to being more creativein their decision making. Groupbrainstorming can be a powerful wayto keep an organization in touch withthe problems that the organization, theindustry, and the general businessenvironment currently face or mightface in the future. Using this tech-nique can keep a management teamand its organization ahead of thecurve and provide an edge over thecompetition. Brainstorming can sup-ply valuable insights, reveal opportu-nities that might otherwise go unno-ticed, and help managers developcreative thinking to solve problems.Brainstorming sessions allow man-agers to take risks they might not nor-

mally be willing to take and help givethem the vision to seize opportunities.

Being able to consistently makethe right decisions is not easy.However, knowing the right questionsto ask helps managers find the rightanswers and make the right decisions.Learning to ask the appropriate ques-tions takes practice. Some examplesof important questions that need to beanswered are: How will my decisionaffect other departments? Will mydecision make the organization morecompetitive? Will it allow eachdepartment to be more productiveand more profitable? How will mydecision affect my team and thefuture of the organization?

If an organization lacks decision-making depth in its managementteams, it may be prevented fromreaching its growth and profitabilitygoals. With globalization, hypercom-petition, and shorter product cycles,problems are more complex than everbefore. Creative decision-makinggroups can provide the understandingand insights that allow managers tobecome strong problem solvers whoapproach decision making in a waythat helps their organizations reachtheir full potential.

David S. Goldsmith is founder of DSGoldsmith, a consultancy that helpsorganizations turn high-potential ideasinto bottom-line results. He holds anM.S. degree in education from theUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls anda master’s certificate in business lead-ership from Cornell University.

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