For one, there are the group-based biases such as, groupthink and group polarization (more on these in a future post) that lead to poor decisions. There are a number of ways to minimize these biases, but this is not what I’d like to write about this time.

Rather, I would like to focus on the factors that influence individual decision-making within groups/teams. In other words, how do we, as individuals, end up contributing to poor decision-making when we are part of a group.

The following scenarios are probably familiar for some: You are in a meeting. The team leader is proposing a deadline that is highly unrealistic, and you observe all your colleagues nodding in unison. Or, the CEO is suggesting a strategy with a few serious flaws with such conviction that no one from the executive team raises any concerns.

What do you do in situations like these? Do you join the majority and commit to an unrealistic deadline, or give your support to a flawed strategy? Or, do you raise your concerns? Whatever your answer may be, here are a few questions to reflect on:

1. What is crossing your mind as you observe the reactions of others? Do you think “I must be the only one who thinks like that” or “What am I missing here?”? Or, do you think “It can’t be that I am the only one who sees a problem here!”?
2. What is your preferred style in dealing with disagreement or conflict? Are you comfortable with confrontation, or would you rather avoid confrontation and conflict?

For the first question if you think that you’re the only one with concerns, it is highly likely that you’re being a victim of the bias “pluralistic ignorance”. That is, you assume (incorrectly) that everyone else in the group accepts the situation, where actually quite a few others privately question it too. It is “pluralistic” because you’re not the only one who makes that assumption. To the extend that no one speaks up, this tendency perpetuates group members’ reluctance to express their disagreements and leads to suboptimal decisions. So what would be a better approach?

• Act with the assumption that you are not the only one who has concerns or questions. Observe people in meetings and you’ll notice when others are confused or not agreeing with the message. Remember the times when others “piggy-backed” with their questions/objections once a concern has been raised.
• Ask people in private after the meeting if they indeed had no questions or concerns.  They are more likely to express their real thoughts outside the group situation. This gives you a good reason to speak up next time.
• Trust your instincts. If you are convinced that something is not clear or questionable, it probably is.
• Think of the costs of going ahead with a poor decision and take responsibility to point out to flaws.

Coming to the second question. It is absolutely crucial that you are aware of your preferred or habitual style when it comes to confrontation and conflict. For most people these two terms have somewhat negative connotations. But both are indispensable for effective decision-making.

• Explore your default style in dealing with situations that involve confrontation or conflict by paying attention to both your thoughts and emotional reactions.
• If you consistently associate confrontation and conflict with negativity, trace back the roots of this connection (e.g., family, close-relationships, a boss in your early career, organizational culture etc.,).
• Consider taking a different perspective: Confrontation and conflict – when dealt with effectively – clear the air, reveal misunderstandings, and consequently lead to better decisions.

As a team member you can contribute to the decision-making process if you consider and apply the above points. As a leader you can, and should encourage your team to be aware of these biases and tendencies if you would like to come up with optimal decisions.

“You don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same note” ~ Doug Floyd

*Krech & Crutchfield (1948). Theory and Problems of Social Psychology.

Each of us have the option to live our lives either in a relatively haphazard way – without much insight into the crucial distinction between the reality and what our minds make of it – or, in a more conscious way. The conscious way requires us to self-reflect in order to become aware of our

• Emotions
• Impulses
• Needs and desires
• Thinking patterns

Doing that allows us have a better understanding of ourselves, and hence have a better control of our reactions and actions. The more time you take for honest self-reflection, the better are your chances to live a more deliberate life.

One of my clients, a recently appointed executive, expressed his reluctance when I suggested that a 360°assessment after his first three months would be a good tool to assist him in his new role. He’s found the idea of getting feedback from his direct reports “not so executive-like”. At the end of the day he is “the boss”, he “should” be the one giving feedback to them.

Now, one possibility would be to leave it at that – that is, accept his view as it is and look for other ways to assist him in his new position. But the other possibility, is to explore what really lies underneath his reluctance. The latter is the way towards increasing self-awareness, and that is what coaching is for! So we’ve started looking deeper…

• What did he feel when he heard about my suggestion of 360°assessment?
• What was his “gut reaction” to it?
• What does he feel when he thinks about getting the feedback from his direct reports?
• What kind of feedback does he expect to get?
• What would that feedback mean to him? In other words, how would he interpret the feedback?

That is simply an exploration of what’s taking place between my suggestion to him and his reaction to that suggestion. It is an exploration of the assumptions he makes about what feedback is; the meaning he attributes to getting feedback from his direct reports; the prediction he makes what that feedback might look like, and what that would mean for him as an executive; and maybe even more important, the question of if he can handle the feedback.

His mind had already begun processing all these questions (upon hearing my suggestion) before he expressed his reluctance to do an assessment – within a matter of milliseconds!

And that’s usually what happens with most of our reactions – within milliseconds our mind processes the given stimulus (in this case, my suggestion). And most of the time this processing takes place without our conscious effort or attention. Consequently, because it’s such an automatic process we just say our reaction was a “gut feeling” or it “just felt right”.

The thing is gut feelings or our first reactions come from well learned, well-rehearsed thinking patterns that have become automatized over time. With the good intention of making our lives easier.

If you don’t turn the light of conscious attention to the processing your mind does, and do self-reflection you’re missing out many opportunities to “know thyself”. Unfortunately, in the fast pace of our days we miss out so many of those chances simply because we don’t either have the time or the energy to self-reflect.

As a result of our exploration my client realized what was going through his mind: He thought he might lose his credibility, power/authority and maybe even the respect of his direct reports if he asked for their feedback. He realized that he feared “what if they come up with all these things I need to work on and what if I cannot pull it off?” “How uncomfortable would it be to know my direct reports are observing how I’ll change or won’t change based on their feedback?”

During the coaching process my client got to explore the important distinction among reality, his perceptions and interpretations of it and his subsequent reactions. Being aware of the underlying anxieties and fear and by questioning them, he is in a better position to make a decision about a 360°assessment.

As Nathaniel Branden has pointed out:

• What I perceive
• What I interpret it to mean
• How I feel about it

are three separate questions. Reflecting on these questions and becoming aware of the distinctions provide the key to self-understanding.

How about you? How many chances are you missing out to “know thyself” each day? And thus, taking sub-optimal decisions? I suggest you start creating opportunities to self-reflect. If not possible during the day, how about you note down your reactions during the day and take 5-10 minutes at the end of the day to go through them.

Many experts in leadership and professional development have long shifted their focus from time management to energy management. That is, the challenge lies rather in how we manage our physical, mental and emotional energy. How we generate, allocate, use, sustain, and replenish energy in these different domains is one of the core dimensions of self-management.

Even though one might think physical, mental and emotional domains as relatively independent from one another, numerous studies from cognitive and social psychology indicate that we’re tapping into the same resource. In other words, when you are using your mental resources to focus on an important task or problem solving, less energy is left for example, for suppressing your frustration with one of you colleagues. Or, if you are an introvert attending to a networking lunch – dealing with anxiety – you have less resources available for the budget meeting in the afternoon.

Among other things, this has some significant implications for managing our attention. Our attention determines what we perceive, recognize, comprehend, and remember. Therefore, anything that influences attention influences how we process information about the world.

Directing attention on things that you want to focus on, and keeping it there long enough requires energy. You also need to consider that some of your energy is spent monitoring the environment/background without conscious effort – that’s why you recognize your favorite song coming up on the radio although you cannot report the name of the previous song, or recognizing someone mentioning your name in a noisy room, while holding a conversation.*

So much for the claim “We are using only 10% of our brain”! Actually our brain is working in full capacity in managing all the conscious and unconscious processes of human functioning.

Thus, it is important to manage the limited resources wisely. You cannot count on your brain to allocate some of that “remaining 90%” capacity to properly run a meeting, draft a contract, or hold a decent conversation when you are multi-tasking by checking your Blackberry and surfing through the net, with your email program alerting you each time you receive a new message!  It just isn’t a wise way of managing your precious energy. 

Just like for any limited resource, you need to have a clear budget for your attention. Our lives might have become a target of demands that require us to attend to multiple things at once, but neither our hardware (e.g., our immune system suppressed by stress, the speed of neural transmission of information), or software (e.g., selective attention as opposed to unlimited attention) is ready to handle these pressing demands. That is, at least without any costs (e.g., poor quality of work and relationships, burn-out, more mistakes, decreased enjoyment from work or conversations). 

With every interruption, you need to put in more energy to re-focus your attention to the task at hand. So, instead of saving time with multi-tasking you are wasting some of your valuable energy with added costs.

If you would like to optimize your attention and the energy invested in it, here’re a few tips that’ll help you:

1. Resist multi-tasking! If multi-tasking has become a habit, it will take some time to break it but be persistent.
2. Create a work environment that will minimize both the distractions and  the temptation to multi-task. Block a certain time for checking and answering emails – outside that turn-off your email program completely. Form an “email parking lot ” on a piece of paper to note down emails to be sent later.
3. Control your urge to answer the phone each time it rings. The ringing creates an unwarranted sense of urgency – like emails, many phone calls can wait. Even better, turn-off your phone when working on an important task.
4. To optimize results and time use, strictly implement “no-cell phones” rule in meetings.
5. Replenish your energy by taking short breaks – resist the urge to work for uninterrupted blocks that last longer than 90 minutes. One can learn much from sports, especially from tennis where attention determines the scoreboard as much as physical talent. Research shows that taking even “micro-pauses” of 16 to 20 seconds in between points translates into top performance. 
6. Learn to meditate. This will help you to get better in directing your attention to the task at hand much more effectively even in the face of interruptions.

Working for long hours without breaks or trying to accomplish more by multi-tasking is neither a sustainable way to work, nor the path towards high performance. Next time more on how to optimize your energy further and how to strengthen your willpower for successful self-management.

*Never mind all the effort your brain invests in regulating survival functions such as respiration, digestion etc..

Numerous studies point out to the link between wellbeing/happiness and work-related outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, performance, team-work, motivation, goal orientation, creativity). As argued in a recent Gallup report :

“Whether you manage a few people, lead a large group, or run an entire organization, you are already in the business of managing employee wellbeing” (Gallup, 2010)

Of course the responsibility of managing wellbeing is not only limited to organizations, as individuals it is also part of our responsibility in order to exercise effective self-leadership.

There are different pathways to wellbeing/happiness: experiencing positive emotions; being engaged in one’s life; seeing meaning/purpose… I would like to focus on the first one – feeling good!

Feeling good – in and of itself – is a rewarding experience but recent positive psychology findings suggest it has more to offer. It turns out the message of Bobby McFerrin’s song “Don’t worry, be happy” was not that trivial, but actually deserves more attention!

Dr. Barbara Frederickson of University of North Carolina is one of the leading names in the study of positive emotions. She started out by asking the question: “What is the value of positive emotions?”

The same question about negative emotions has already been largely answered: They are evolutionary adaptations to threats our ancestors faced. Anger mobilizes us to take action, regulates social relations by signaling the other party that we are not okay with mistreatment, injustice etc.. Fear keeps us away from danger, triggers a fight or flight response.

Now, coming back to the value of positive emotions such as joy, serenity, gratitude, it is not as straightforward to understand why human beings evolved to experience them. In other words – why it’s good to feel good. Recent research by Dr. Frederickson, however shows that positive emotions do more than only signaling the absence of threats. According to her Broaden-and-Build Theory, positive emotions broaden an individual’s momentary mindset their negative emotions, on the other hand narrow our thought-action repertoires), and by doing so help to build the following personal resources:

• intellectual: thinking becomes more creative, integrative, flexible and open to information
• physical: better coordination, improved strength and cardiovascular health
• social: solidify existing bonds, make new bonds
• psychological: develop resilience, optimism, sense of identity and goal orientation.

Other research suggests that people experiencing positive emotions

• use more cooperative strategies when negotiating,
• have more favorable perceptions of themselves and others,
• are more self-efficacious,
• set higher goals for themselves,
• and persist at a difficult task longer

All of this makes a compelling case for making sure we experience more positive emotions more often. Here’re a few ways how to do that:

• Use humor and laughter
• Find positive meaning within current circumstances. What benefit can you find in adversity? Newfound strengths? What meaning can you attribute to ordinary events?
• Practice gratitude. Doing gratitude exercises are shown to be an immense resource for feeling good and lasting happiness. You can reflect everyday or at the end of every week on things you’re grateful for. You can express gratitude to your family, friends and colleagues more often. You can write a gratitude letter to someone you haven’t thanked before.

So, don’t just wait until you come across something that makes you feel good. Rather, be proactive and plan for it by actively finding things that will make you feel good.

References:
Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The value of positive emotions. American Scientist, 91, 330-335.

*Positive Psychology is the study of conditions and processes that lead to flourishing and optimum performance.

ROI = Performance + Learning + Enjoyment

As his formula indicates, the third component for getting the best out of your work is also to consider enjoyment goals. Even though some people might view enjoyment as a side-benefit positive psychology studies document it is definitely more than that.

Enjoyment at work is closely related to being “vitally engaged” in what one is doing. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who has been studying the capacity to be a full participant in life for decades describes optimal living as “being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad”. The “flow” concept he has developed – also know as “being in the zone” is described as an experience when one is able to be completely caught up in what he is doing and time flies. Flow state, which is familiar to top athletes, not only fosters enjoyment from the task at hand, it is also an important catalyst for moving toward peak performance.

Now consider to what extent you feel engaged in your work. Reflect on and evaluate your state at work on a scale of 1 (misery)  – 10 (pure enjoyment) and what percent of your work you spend in this state.

A Gallup survey from 2006 shows that only 31%, 20%, and 17% of employees report feeling engaged in their work in the U.S., France and Britain, respectively. Although a gloomy picture, the bright side is that there’s plenty of room for improvement. And thanks to positive psychology research there are a number of tools one can use to increase enjoyment at work.

1. Leverage strengths. Applying your strengths is one important pathway to fulfilling enjoyment goals at work. This starts with identifying your strengths.

One of the important assessment tools of positive psychology, “Values in Actions (VIA)” Survey, provides a carefully developed classification of character strengths based on data from thousands of individuals from numerous cultures. The VIA classification identifies 24 strengths of character  (e.g., critical thinking, curiosity, persistence, kindness, leadership, self-regulation, gratitude, etc.). The survey is available free of charge online and provides a list of top strengths.

Once you’ve identified your strengths, next step is finding ways in which you can apply them to tasks, responsibilities and relationships at work.

2. Minimize distraction. Focusing on the task at hand by minimizing distractions – especially temptation to multi-task – is one important condition for flow experience.

3. Increase sense of control. Work is almost always a combination of elements that one can control and elements one cannot. Deliberately directing attention and focus on elements on has control over increases one’s sense of control which contributes to engagement.

4. Balance skills and challenge. The optimal balance between having a  high level of skill and a challenging task is key to flow. When this balance is tipped of in the direction of high skill, low challenge, boredom results. When the skills are not high enough to match the challenge one experiences anxiety. Carefully monitoring this balance and making the necessary adjustments either by increasing the skill or decreasing/increasing the challenge level will increase chances of flow.

So, define your work more than just in terms of performance – see how you see returns in your learning and enjoyment. Further good news is: This will inevitably feed back into performance!

“I don’t see myself ever stopping [working] completely… I like it too much. It’s very satisfying. I mean, it is like an art form, for one thing. It’s a tremendous art…I did a duck for a guy the other day…and when he came and picked it up he almost started crying because it looked so nice. He was just so happy…and that makes me feel good, that he thought I’d done a great job. Self-satisfaction is a big deal in any job. It’s a big deal in life.” ~ Taxidermist

In a work culture that puts great emphasis on performance, people tend focus almost solely on performance goals: sales made, deals closed, salary earned, papers published, customer satisfaction… But work is more than just performing – it is also about learning and enjoyment. Although people might acknowledge learning and enjoyment as “products”, even “bi-products” of their work, a more fresh and comprehensive perspective as to what “work” is in order.

You can start with pondering the question “What definition of work do I bring to work with me?” Do you see your work as:

• What you must do vs. what you want to do?
• What you do for pay?
• Doing what your boss tells you to do?
• Accomplishment?
• Obligation?
• Fun?

It can even be that you’ve never actually asked yourself this question: “What is work for me?”. But despite not having defined it explicitly, the meaning you give to “work” becomes the context and the background conversation for all your actions at work. Psychology literature refers to three possible ways in which people perceive their work:

1. work as a job: the primary focus is on financial rewards of work, a financial means to an end of enjoying time away from work.
2. work as a career: a focus on rewards that accompany movement and promotion through organizational structures (self-esteem, increased power, and higher social standing)
3. work as a calling: work as an end in itself, marked by fulfillment that the work itself brings.

So, which one is yours? Do you perceive your work as a job, career or calling?

For perceptions of work as job or career, it’s likely that the emphasis will be mainly on performance goals. Incorporating learning and enjoyment into the definition of work has potential in transforming your perception and experience of work beyond a job or a career.

While performance goals relate to changes mainly outside you (salary, publications, deals closed), learning and enjoyment goals relate to changes inside you (competence, strategic thinking, empathy, less stress, fun). This way the latter two goals have greater potential in contributing to a sense of fulfillment from work.

In his book on The Inner Game of Work Tim Galleway defines return on investment of your work time as:

ROI = Performance + Learning + Enjoyment

This means you need to be setting and pursuing learning and enjoyment goals along with your performance goals to maximize your ROI.
This time I’ll focus on learning goals and a process to pursue them.

1. Set learning goals. Be clear about what you want to learn and why.
2. Think where and with which methods this learning will take place,
3. Decide how you will measure your learning.

Learning goals can involve qualities (being courageous, analytical, diplomatic); understanding of things/people (cost models, communication styles); expertise (know-how, skills); strategic thinking (ability to step back and see the big picture).

Best method for learning will take place from your own interaction with your work experience. After experiences that you think will further your learning, reflect on the experience and insights that emerge.

For example, let’s take relating to your co-workers more empathetically as a learning goal.

• Goal: relating to co-workers more empathetically
• Why: to improve relationships
• Method/How: as first step, by practicing careful listening and asking questions
• Where & when: at weekly team meeting
• Reflection: after the team meeting, reflect on the experience -  to what extent you were able to listen carefully and ask questions; how you felt doing that (was it easy, difficult, uncomfortable?); how did the co-workers respond?; what can you do better last time to pursue your goal?

Now, if you would like to increase your ROI of work time define yourself at least one learning goal and start pursuing it by following the above structure.Next time, enjoyment goals and how positive psychology can help you fulfill them…

References:

Wrzesniewski, A. (2003). Finding positive meaning at work. In K.S. Cameron, J.E. Dutton, & R.E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive Organizational Scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Bowe, J., Bowe, M, & Streeter, S. (2000). Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs.

In other words sometimes, and that can even be a lot of the times, we behave in certain ways without being aware of the real reason for our behavior. At the unconscious level some motivation, previous experience, or current physical stimulant (eg., smell, temperature) could trigger a thought or a behavior without our awareness.

My favorite example is one of many “priming” studies done by Dr. John Bargh and his students at Yale University. In priming studies researchers would expose participants to a stimulus such as some words, a smell, a pictures and then see if this influences or primes a subsequent thought. reaction or behavior of the person.

Here’s what happens in my favorite priming study: Just by manipulating the temperature of a drink – coffee vs. coke – their participants were asked  to hold “before” the experiment, the researchers influenced the participants’ subsequent evaluation of a job applicant! People who were asked to hold a cup of cold coke were more likely to evaluate the applicant negatively, compared to people who were asked to hold a cup of hot coffee. The latter group, in turn was more likely to suggest hiring the applicant. The explanation possibly being, a cold sensation triggers a cooler, distant approach, while a warm sensation prompts a warmer approach to the person.

When asked afterwards, the participants were not even aware of the connection between holding a drink (or the temperature of the drink) and their evaluations of the job applicant. So functions the “unconscious/automatic processes”…We end up having thoughts, making evaluations and decisions, or acting in certain ways as a result of things that we are not even aware of!

And the confabulation part comes in when we are asked to explain the reason behind our behaviors. Since we are not aware of the “real” reason, we end up “fabricating” a plausible explanation for our behavior and we do sincerely believe this “made-up” explanation is the cause of our behavior! The participants in this study might explain their evaluations by factors that “made sense” at that moment: “He seemed competent”; “He was a good communicator” vs. “He seemed distant and not confident” even though in both conditions the “applicant” was exactly the same person and behaved exactly the same way.

Now what does that mean for you? If you’ve been following this blog, you know that my favorite suggestion for any kind of solution or improvement is BECOMING AWARE. And that requires self-reflection on the underlying reasons for your thoughts, feelings, reactions and behaviors. If you don’t do that, it is highly likely that you miss some of those reasons that were the actual triggers for your reactions.

“I am able to control only that of which I am aware. That of which I am unaware controls me. “  ~ John Whitmore

You might wonder “Well, you’ve just said some of these triggers are outside our awareness – how can I become aware then??” To be honest, you’ll probably never be able to become aware all of the factors but you have the choice to become more “inquisitive”, especially when it comes to important judgments and decisions.

• Could it be that the negative reaction you’ve been having towards your colleague is because he reminds you of someone who always annoys you?
• Could the negative gut feeling you get each time you want to express disagreement in the meetings be due to the painting on the boardroom that emphasizes harmony and consensus?
• Or could the recent drop in your productivity be explained by the new elevator music that activates memories of vacation?

These might sound trivial but they are not different than the effects that researchers find study after study.  So… be open to the idea that your thoughts and behaviors are shaped by factors that you are not always aware of – by now that is a well-established scientific fact!

• Do you channel surf when you watch TV, even while attempting to watch one program?
• When you are in the car listening to the radio, do you often check other stations to see if something better is playing even if you’re relatively satisfied with what you’re listening to?
• No matter how satisfied you are with your job, do you think it is only right for you to be on the lookout for better opportunities?
• Do you find that writing – even just a letter to a friend – is difficult because it’s so hard to word things just right?
• Do you find renting videos, or shopping for clothes or gifts difficult because you’re always struggling to pick the best one?
• Whenever you’re faced with a choice, do you try to imagine what all the other possibilities are, even ones that aren’t possible at the moment?

Well, if you said yes to most of the above questions you’re probably a “maximizer” – that is, you have goal orientation that is driven by the question “Is this the best?”. But if you think more in terms of “Is this alternative acceptable?” you are more of a “satisficer”.

Of course, like for any other psychological categorization, these represent general tendencies and could show variation depending on factors such as the type of decision (eg., health – related vs. grocery shopping) and the time available to make a decision.

Maximizing is the better strategy especially for important decisions – maximizers plan more carefully in solving problems, and their high standards may drive them to greater achievement.  However, maximization can come at a significant cost to well-being. If you are a maximizer you probably experience some negative post-decision consequences of being a maximizer.

Research shows that maximization is negatively related to happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and positively associated depression, perfectionism, and regret. This means picking the best option does not come with being happy or satified with the decision.

This is a red flag especially when the number of options increase. Most of us enjoy flexibility and having options – we think the more the better, right? Well, research shows: rather not! According to Dr. Barry Schwartz of Swarthmore College, as more options are added three problems arise:

1. It becomes difficult to gather adequate information for all available options.
2. As options expand, people’s standards for what is an acceptable outcome rise.
3. People may come to believe that any unacceptable result is their fault, because with so many options, they should be able to find a satisfactory one.

But these problems do not trouble everyone equally. Maximizers tend to “suffer” more compared to satisficiers. Think about a purchasing decision.  If there were only two software programs it would be relatively easier to pick one, but let’s say the IT manager is trying to decide among five products. Let’s look at two scenarios:

A “satisficer” manager would be content with using “good enough” information as basis for making a choice. Based on this information, her goal would be to pick the one which is “acceptable” for the needs of the company. Post-decision she wouldn’t keep on questioning her decision thinking “Have I collected all information?” or “Is this really the best software for the company, or could one of the others have been better?”

A maximizer, on the other hand would try to make sure he has a lot of information about each product – which would probably take longer to gather and evaluate. His decision making will be guided by “Which one is the best?”. After he makes his decision he is likely to seek standards or ratings to compare his decision against.

The irony is that despite doing their best in weighing the options, maximizers can’t let go once they’ve made a choice. In a way you could also say that maximizers spend too much time in the deliberative mindset. Rather, they show a susceptibility to regret as indicated by the following statements:

• Whenever I make a choice, I’m curious about what would have happened if I had chosen differently.
• Whenever I make a choice, I try to get information about how the other alternatives turned out.
• If I make a choice and it turns out well, I still feel like something of a failure if I find out that another choice would have turned out better.

Maximizers also have higher expectations from their chosen option and they expect a higher rate of return given the huge investment they’ve made in weighing the alternatives before deciding. This tendency sets them up for frequent disappointment.

So, if you

• have a general tendency to take a lot of time in weighing different options;
• find it difficult to enjoy the choices you’ve made because you can’t stop thinking what would have happened if you had picked the other alternative;
• tend to compare yourself frequently with others – especially those who are better off;
• experience regret often;can’t make sense why the boost of happiness you got from making that “best” decision wares off so easily (despite all that effort you’ve put in!)

then, you need to make some changes in the way you make decisions. That is, if you would like to still make good decisions, but be more satisfied and happy with them and experience less regret.

Here’s a few things that will help you to make the shift:

• Become aware how much time and energy you’re putting into making different decisions
• Each time you’re faced with a decision (and that includes ordering food in a restaurant!) allocate a certain amount of time for decision making and stick with that.
• Question your goal to pick “the best option” when faced with decisions – ask yourself: Is it really that important and necessary, or is it enough to pick “a good enough /acceptable” option?
• Get others to question you when you are striving to pick the best option.
• As you shift towards making “satisficing” decisions, make a quick post-decision analysis. How long did it take? How good do you feel about the decision? And how satisfying were the results? The aim here is to see you can still make good decisions by being a “satisficer”.

Again, like any other habit it will take time to change this one but it is likely to have positive outcomes.  That’s also why I suggest practicing it even with minor decisions such as ordering food or renting a movie. And you’ll still have the flexibility to take all the time you need when you are faced with important decisions.  Happy deciding!

References:

Schwartz, B. (2000). Self determination: The tyranny of freedom. American Psychologist, 55, 79 – 88.

Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1178-1197.

Think about different situations where you need to make decisions… To accept or decline a deal/an offer; to give honest feedback or not; to hire or fire someone; to escalate or de-escalate conflict; to set up your business or not; to ask for business or not; to quit your job or not… The list is long – pick your own favorite example before you read on.

Because we live in a world with a lot of uncertainty – either because we cannot gather all necessary information; or even if did, don’t have the capacity to process it all; or simply because we cannot see the future – our decision-making is never perfect.

One of the ways to simplify this process is to think in terms of best-case, most-probable and worst-case scenarios. So actually, it’s not that there’s nothing wrong with creating “worst-case” scenarios, it is actually necessary to consider them while making decisions!

Especially in certain industries or functions it is unthinkable not to consider those worst-case scenarios. Think about the credit department in banks – how could you not think of the worst case scenario before you approve a loan? Or imagine a lawyer working on an M & A deal – how could he afford to overlook the worst-case scenario? (Actually, professionals working in areas that need a constant/systematic focus on the worst-case scenarios are at a risk of carrying the same outlook into other areas, such as personal life, where such a focus is not always adaptive – more on this in a future post)

So there is really nothing wrong with working with worst-case scenarios per se. Although hopefully your decision-making is not systematically biased using only those types of scenarios. But what about those negative feelings that we attach to those “worst-case” scenarios? Even though one can think of a number of them such as, anxiety, guilt, sadness, disappointment what it really boils down to is: Fear!

Fear of: failure, rejection, losing a person, losing control, losing self-confidence, losing face, getting hurt, wasting time, not being able to handle whatever happens, not being accepted as we are…

And what happens when you feel fear? Although its impact shows variation among people, in general fear tends to block action and moving forward. It is more likely to keep people in the status quo, whatever feels safer. People become less likely to act on their decisions and gut-feelings even when they think there’s much to gain if they were to act.

Thus, instead of going active to confront a conflict, “fearing” the worst case scenario people avoid talking about the conflict or the person who’s on the other side of that conflict. Or instead of asking for business, “fearing” the rejection, they pass on an important opportunity.

Then the whole rationalization mechanism kicks in to justify their approach to avoid the resulting dissonance – the dissonance from not acting in the direction which could have also ended up in a “better than the worst-case scenario” result.

Another tendency that makes attaching negative feelings to worst-case scenarios even more problematic is that we are actually not good at affective forecasting. In other words, when we imagine how good or bad we would feel following a future event we tend to over – or under-estimate the intensity of our future emotions.(see an earlier post: Time travel: Will I really want to go for a run at 6 a.m. tomorrow? dated 2009-10-01 for more on affective forecasting)

This happens because we tend to rely too much on our current emotions or some similar events that stand out in our memory due to their extreme/intense emotional significance as anchors. The consequence? Inaccurate predictions about how bad we would feel if the worst-case scenarios were to come true!

What’s a better strategy then? Well, the answer is in the title! We need to keep worst-case scenarios free of feelings as much as possible.  And how do we do that, you ask?

• First, start with best-case or most-probable scenarios to create a positive vision which leads to positive emotions including hope, sense of accomplishment, relief, confidence, pride etc.. When people feel good, their thinking becomes more creative, integrative, flexible, and open to information (Isen, 1987)

• Then become aware of your emotions as you think of the worst case-scenario. And get clear as much as possible what they are – name them! And ask yourself what’s behind them. When negative emotions remain as generalized unexplained anxiety or fear, it is much more difficult to do something about them.

Here’s an example:

Issue: Confronting a colleague in a conflict

• Best-case scenario: We’ll talk about the issue, express our disagreements, show respect, stay calm, clear the air, find a compromise satisfying for both. (Possible positive feelings: Hope, relief, accomplishment, confidence)

• Worst-case scenario: Losing my control, getting emotional, straining the relationship, not getting what I want, losing face

• Feelings: What am I feeling (specific!) right now when I think of the worst-case scenario? : Anxiety for not knowing what will happen, fear of losing the relationship, fear of losing control and face. Most of the time once you name and acknowledge the emotions, you already start feeling much more calm about the worst-case scenario! As a further step you can ask yourself how realistic that worst-case scenario is.

• Observer’s perspective: Now that you have expressed the emotions – look at the scenario from a detached perspective, from an observer’s perspective. That is the perspective that would help with effective decision making. Now you can evaluate the scenario much better as you weigh its pro’s and con’s and hence, how “bad” it really is and finally how is probable it is. The data you have is not “confounded” by the negative emotions anymore.

Again, trying to make worst-case scenarios emotion-free doesn’t mean that we should suppress or ignore our negative emotions. On the contrary, emotions are  very valuable in decision making, they are signposts that signal what we are not sometimes able to pick up at the conscious cognitive level. Reflecting on them gives us a wealth of information about our needs, motivations, un-explored assumptions. This is why I suggest that you name the specific negative emotions you are experiencing when you think of the worst-case scenario. What I am arguing is that they shouldn’t be an obstacle in effective decision-making as they become an ingrained but unexplained part of the worst-case scenarios.

Getting used to “detaching” the negative emotions from the worst-case scenarios might and probably will take sometime and effort. This is true especially if you are someone who is not comfortable with working with your emotions; or if you believe that you never rely on them in your decision-making anyway. In that case, you would gain even more by reflecting on the emotional level of decision making because it means that so far your emotions have been influencing your decisions without your control!

“I am able to control only that of which I am aware. That of which I am unaware controls me. “  ~ John Whitmore

References:
Isen, A. M. (1987). Positive affect, cognitive processes and social behavior. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 20, 203-253. 

Recently I’ve had an A-ha moment that has helped me to make better sense of my indecisiveness. I’ve realized that at times I just get stuck in a “deliberative mindset” and fail to move into a “implemental mindset”.

These two mindsets* were coined by  Dr.Peter Gollwitzer, a leading researcher in the area of goal pursuit – followers of this blog would recognize the name from the post on implementation intentions. According to Dr. Gollwitzer, there are unique mindsets associated with how people go about pursuing goals.

Deliberative mindset refers to a cognitive orientation in which people evaluate and select a goal/alternative from many alternate goals/options that could be pursued at a given point in time. Say, when you’re trying to decide if you should stay with your current position or put yourself forward for that senior-level promotion.

This mindset leads people to consider relevant information in a careful and balanced manner. What are the advantages and disadvantages of my current position and those of the new position? Things to consider: more responsibility, more involvement in strategic decision, more visibility in the organization, better pay, new team, longer hours,  etc…

The desire to be accurate (unbiased) is stronger when in a deliberative mindset and people spend sometime in this mindset as they weigh pro’s and con’s of each option. Research also shows this might decrease the positive illusions we normally entertain about ourselves – such as, our ability to control uncontrollable events; being better than others; or our vulnerability to risks.

In contrast, in implemental mindset, people are concerned with the specific planning on how to implement the chosen goal. Let’s say you’ve decided forego the promotion option and to stay in your current position. The focus is now on the thoughts and actions necessary to achieve the outcome that you’ve decided to pursue (How can I make the best out of my current position?; How can I increase my visibility in the current position?; What are some ways I can improve at what I am doing to make it more fulfilling?)

Different to the deliberative mindset, implemental mindset is associated with an information search biased toward the chosen option, due to a focus on planning and action (e.g., great things about my current team; flexibility in managing projects; time I’ll have for other things). The determination to achieve chosen outcomes may foster a belief in one’s ability to realize these outcomes and thoughts that reflect the desire to feel good about the decision (This position allows me to make a bigger difference in the organization; I can be more successful with my current team;  etc..)

Now, “normally” the decision-making process starts with being in a deliberative mind-set; then making a decision after careful deliberation; and then moving to a implemental mindset where now it’s all about believing in the decision you’ve made and moving forward with it. But what happens when you’re stuck in a deliberative mindset? You relapse back to considering the alternatives again and again! So you find yourself considering the advantages of the promotion and seeing it as an alternative again?

What happens then?

* You spend time and energy that would be better spent on pursuing your chosen option, on deliberating between the two options.

* You start questioning the “goodness” of your previous decision and this reflects on your commitment to your goal – this is especially detrimental if the other option is not viable anymore (e.g., someone else is already promoted to the other position)

* Even if you end up with the same decision again, the subjective feeling of being convinced of it decreases (i.e., during the second or third round of deliberation you might come up with additional con’s to it) that could influence your motivation

* If it is a recurring pattern, this might decrease your confidence in your ability to make good decisions.

How to go about it?

* Spend enough time in the deliberative mindset at the beginning, comparing different options

* Document the decision process by writing down the pro’s and con’s of different options

* Once you decide write down the rationale behind your final decision in a narrative/paragraph form than in bullet form. Doing so would help with sense-making if you were to revisit your decision.

* If you find yourself “relapsing” back to the deliberative mindset, refer to your notes and remind yourself there is no value in reconsidering the different options again – unless there is new information. Refocus on your chosen goal and think of mentally switching a dial that reads: Activate implemental mindset!

This might need some training for people who in general experience indecisiveness. But like other cognitive structures or process you can modify this tendency. If you’re in that group, practice it even with minor decisions (e.g., which restaurant to go, which food to order, etc.,).

What if you generally don’t have propensity towards indecisiveness but find yourself getting stuck in the deliberative mindset with some decisions? This might be a sign of not being able to let go off the other alternatives and deserves some exploration.

* Could there be some hidden benefits and costs you haven’t considered?

* Have you taken the emotional pro’s and con’s in your deliberations in addition to the more rational/factual ones?

* Did you take a “What should I want/do?” or “What do I really want?” perspective?

At work or in private life, professionals have to make a lot of decisions – taking more responsibility and being more reflective about the decision-making process could only lead to better decisions.

* Mindset refers to a cognitive orientation characterized by certain ways of processing information or solving tasks. While one mindset can facilitate solving a particular task, let’s say choosing the best option among many others; it can hamper solving other tasks, such as persisting on the already chosen alternative.