When leaders believe they can know the outcome of a decision with absolute certainty, they ride a false sense of security. Despite the fact that achieving certainty about a decision result is nearly impossible, leaders often set their sights on this lofty goal. They turn over every stone and examine even the smallest pieces of information, all the while eliminating uncertainty layer by layer.
The best leaders seek data and info all the way to the last moment before a decision is committed to and then executed.
Leaders who focus on certainty stop asking questions and considering new views once they have landed on an answer/decision.
Leaders who focus on certainty will stop asking questions and considering new views once they have landed on an answer/decision.
This might be difficult to practice without what feels like a big decision coming down the path at you, but it can be applied to even a very classic and common trope. Deciding where to go to dinner tonight. Think about all the ways you might keep optionality open on this as late as possible. An answer like “let’s just head uptown and see what looks good at restaurant row when we get there” might frustrate a person used to focusing on certainty, but is a great answer for someone staying open to greater clarity.
The other thing is… would love to have this question come up on the next ALD direct session next Tuesday where we can talk about a few of the behaviors in the decision making module in the platform.
Got it. Basically keep your options open and be open to new information. I think of crime shows where they have a suspect and they stop looking at any other evidence and focus their attention solely on the one person to build a case. BTW - I don't recommend not knowing which restaurant your going to take your date to. In this case, they want to know you've put some thought into it beforehand and not just winging it. Of course, you get to the restaurant and it is crowded, noisy, service is lousy, it would be good to have a couple other options you've thought about in case you've got to change venues. Thanks!
Do you have any recommended behaviors to get clarity and avoid falling into the trap of certainty?
Hi David,
Couple of things.
The best leaders seek data and info all the way to the last moment before a decision is committed to and then executed.
Leaders who focus on certainty stop asking questions and considering new views once they have landed on an answer/decision.
Leaders who focus on certainty will stop asking questions and considering new views once they have landed on an answer/decision.
This might be difficult to practice without what feels like a big decision coming down the path at you, but it can be applied to even a very classic and common trope. Deciding where to go to dinner tonight. Think about all the ways you might keep optionality open on this as late as possible. An answer like “let’s just head uptown and see what looks good at restaurant row when we get there” might frustrate a person used to focusing on certainty, but is a great answer for someone staying open to greater clarity.
The other thing is… would love to have this question come up on the next ALD direct session next Tuesday where we can talk about a few of the behaviors in the decision making module in the platform.
Can you make it this Tuesday at 2pm ET?
Got it. Basically keep your options open and be open to new information. I think of crime shows where they have a suspect and they stop looking at any other evidence and focus their attention solely on the one person to build a case. BTW - I don't recommend not knowing which restaurant your going to take your date to. In this case, they want to know you've put some thought into it beforehand and not just winging it. Of course, you get to the restaurant and it is crowded, noisy, service is lousy, it would be good to have a couple other options you've thought about in case you've got to change venues. Thanks!