Page 22 - Twenty Four Lessons for Mastering Your New Role

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Make snap decisions

Decide and deliver

Now that you’re a manager, you’ll need to make more decisions
than ever before. And you will probably wish you had more time,
more information, and more guidance before making tough calls.
By developing a system for calm, rational decision-making, you’ll
gain confidence when operating under duress. You can decide
quickly and deliver great results without backtracking, dallying, or
leading others to question your judgment.
Decisions revolve around three steps: gathering facts, identifying
options, and choosing the best one. Relevant facts can come from a
range of sources, from employees to customers to activity reports
and other quantitative measures.
Listing your full range of possible moves requires an open mind.
Options that may seem off-the-wall or foolhardy at first may prove wor-
thy of consideration, perhaps when combined with other alternatives.
When deciding among all your options, you’ll want to apply objective
criteria to pinpoint the most sensible, effective choice of action.
Delay can wreak havoc on your decision-making. Waiting induces
stress. It prolongs uncertainty and can lead others to doubt your
managerial muscle. Collecting facts and weighing options need not
be a long, tortuous process.
If you’re facing a series of unappealing options, ask yourself,
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Evaluate the likelihood of dif-
ferent outcomes and isolate variables you can control. This way, you
can weigh the worst-case odds against more acceptable outcomes.
Indecision thrives if you’re reluctant to accept accountability for

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