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Problem Solving and Decision Making - Two Essential Skills of a Good Leader

Darren Matthews

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Problem solving and decision making are two fascinating skillsets. We call them out as two separate skills – and they are – but they also make use of the same core attributes.

They feed on a need to communicate well, both through questioning and listening, and be patient and not rushing both processes through. Thus, the greatest challenge any leader faces when it comes to solving problems and decision making is when the pressure of time comes into play. But as Robert Schuller highlights in his quote, allowing problem-solving to become the decision means you’ll never break free from the problem.

“Never bring the problem-solving stage into the decision-making stage. Otherwise, you surrender yourself to the problem rather than the solution.”—Robert H. Schuller

So how does a leader avoid this trap? How do they ensure the problem solving doesn’t become the be-all and end-all?

The 7 steps of Effective Problem Solving and Decision Making

A vital hurdle every leader must overcome is to avoid the impulsive urge to make quick decisions . Often when confronted with a problem, leaders or managers fall back in past behaviours. Urgency creates pressure to act quickly as a result, the problem still exists, just side-lined until it rears its ugly head again.

Good problem solving opens opportunity. A notable example of this is the first principles thinking executed by the likes of Elon Musk and others. Understanding the fundamentals blocks of a process and the problem it’s creating can lead to not just the problem but accelerate beyond it.

So, to avoid the trap, and use problem solving and decision making effectively , you should embody yourself with the following seven steps.

1.      What is the problem?

Often, especially in time-critical situations, people don’t define the problem. Some label themselves as fire-fighters, just content with dowsing out the flames. It is a reactionary behaviour and one commonplace with under-trained leaders. As great as some fire-fighters are, they can only put out so many fires at one time, often becoming a little industry.

The better approach is to define the problem, and this means asking the following questions:

  • What is happening? ( What makes you think there is a problem?)
  • Where is it taking place?
  • How is it happening?
  • When is it happening?
  • Why is it happening?
  • With whom is it happening? (This isn’t a blame game…all you want to do is isolate the problem to a granular level.)
  • Define what you understand to be the problem in writing by using as few sentences as possible. (Look at the answers to your what, where, why, when, and how questions.)

2.      What are the potential causes?

Having defined the problem it is now time to find out what might be causing the problem. Your leadership skills: your communication skills need to be strong, as you look to gather input from your team and those involved in the problem.

Key points:

  • Talk to those involved individually. Groupthink is a common cause of blindness to the problem, especially if there is blame culture within the business.
  • Document what you’ve heard and what you think is the root cause is.
  • Be inquisitive. You don’t know what you don’t know, so get the input of others and open yourself up to the feedback you’ll need to solve this problem.

3.      What other ways can you overcome the problem?

 Sometimes, getting to the root cause can take time. Of course, you can’t ignore it, but it is important to produce a plan to temporarily fix the problem. In business, a problem will be costing the business money, whether it be sales or profit. So, a temporary fix allows the business to move forward, providing it neutralises the downside of the original problem.

4.      How will you resolve the problem?

At this stage, you still don’t know what the actual problem is. All you have is a definition of the problem which is a diagnosis of the issue. You will have the team’s input, as well as your opinions as to what the next steps should be.

If you don’t, then at this stage you should think about reassessing the problem. One way forward could be to become more granular and adopt a first-principles approach.

  • Break the problem down into its core parts
  • What forms the foundational blocks of the system in operation?
  • Ask powerful questions to get to the truth of the problem
  • How do the parts fit together?
  • What was the original purpose of the system working in this way?
  • Name and separate your assumptions from the facts
  • Remind yourself of the goal and create a new solution

Solve hard problems with inversion

Another way is to invert the problem using the following technique:

1. Understand the problem

Every solution starts with developing a clear understanding of what the problem is. In this instance, some clarity of the issue is vital.

2. Ask the opposite question

Convention wisdom means we see the world logically. But what if you turned the logical outcome on its head. Asking the opposite questions brings an unfamiliar perspective.

3. Answer the opposite question

It seems a simple logic, but you can’t just ask the opposite question and not answer it. You must think through the dynamics that come from asking the question. You're looking for alternative viewpoints and thoughts you've not had before.

4. Join your answers up with your original problem

This is where solutions are born. You’re taking your conventional wisdom and aligning it with the opposite perspective. So often the blockers seen in the original problem become part of the solution.

5.      Define a plan to either fix the problem permanently or temporarily

You now know the problem. You understand the fix, and you are a position to assess the risks involved.

Assessing the risks means considering the worst-case scenarios and ensuring you avoid them. Your plan should take into the following points:

  • Is there any downtime to implementing the solution? If so, how long, and how much will it cost? Do you have backup systems in place to minimise the impact?
  • If the risk is too great, consider a temporary fix which keeps current operations in place and gives you time to further prepare for a permanent fix.
  • Document the plan and share it with all the relevant stakeholders. Communication is key.

Here we see the two skills of problem solving and decision making coming together. The two skills are vital to managing business risks as well as solving the problem.

6.      Monitor and measure the plan

Having evolved through the five steps to this stage, you mustn’t take your eye off the ball as it were.

  • Define timelines and assess progress
  • Report to the stakeholders, ensuring everyone is aware of progress or any delays.
  • If the plan doesn’t deliver, ask why? Learn from failure.

7.      Have you fixed the problem?

Don’t forget the problem you started with. Have you fixed it? You might find it wasn’t a problem at all. You will have learnt a lot about the part of the business where the problem occurred, and improvements will have taken place.

Use the opportunity to assess what worked, what didn’t, and what would have helped. These are three good questions to give you some perspective on the process you’ve undertaken.

Problem solving and decision making in unison

Throughout the process of problem solving, you’re making decisions. Right from the beginning when the problem first becomes clear, you have a choice to either react – firefight or to investigate. This progresses as move onto risk assessing the problem and then defining the solutions to overcome the issue.

Throughout the process, the critical element is to make decisions with the correct information to hand. Finding out the facts, as well as defeating your assumptions are all part of the process of making the right decision.

Problem solving and decision making – a process 

Problem solving isn’t easy. It becomes even more challenging when you have decisions to make. The seven steps I’ve outlined will give you the ability to investigate and diagnose the problem correctly.

  • What is the problem?
  • What are the potential causes?
  • What other ways can you overcome the problem?
  • How will you resolve the problem?
  • Define a plan to either fix the problem permanently or temporarily.
  • Monitor and measure the plan.
  • Have you fixed the problem?

Of course, this logical step by step process might not enable you to diagnose the issue at hand. Some problems can be extremely hard, and an alternative approach might help. In this instance, first principles thinking or using the power of inversion are excellent ways to dig into hard problems. Problem solving and decision making are two skills every good leader needs. Using them together is an effective way to work.

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Steps in problem solving and decision making

  • Improved efficiency and productivity: Employees with strong problem solving and decision making skills are better equipped to identify and solve issues that may arise in their work. This leads to improved efficiency and productivity as they can complete their work more timely and effectively.
  • Improved customer satisfaction: Problem solving and decision making skills also help employees address any concerns or issues customers may have. This leads to enhanced customer satisfaction as customers feel their needs are being addressed and their problems are resolved.
  • Effective teamwork: When working in teams, problem solving and decision making skills are essential for effective collaboration . Groups that can effectively identify and solve problems together are more likely to successfully achieve their goals.
  • Innovation: Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills are also crucial for driving innovation in the workplace. Employees who think creatively and develop new solutions to problems are more likely to develop innovative ideas to move the business forward.
  • Risk management: Problem solving and decision making skills are also crucial for managing risk in the workplace. By identifying potential risks and developing strategies to mitigate them, employees can help minimize the negative impact of risks on the business.

Problem solving techniques

  • Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a technique for generating creative ideas and solutions to problems. In a brainstorming session, a group of people share their thoughts and build on each other’s suggestions. The goal is to generate a large number of ideas in a short amount of time. For example, a team of engineers could use brainstorming to develop new ideas for improving the efficiency of a manufacturing process.
  • Root Cause Analysis: Root cause analysis is a technique for identifying the underlying cause of a problem. It involves asking “why” questions to uncover the root cause of the problem. Once the root cause is identified, steps can be taken to address it. For example, a hospital could use root cause analysis to investigate why patient falls occur and identify the root cause, such as inadequate staffing or poor lighting.
  • SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis is a technique for evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a problem or situation. It involves assessing internal and external factors that could impact the problem and identifying ways to leverage strengths and opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and threats. For example, a small business could use SWOT analysis to evaluate its market position and identify opportunities to expand its product line or improve its marketing.
  • Pareto Analysis: Pareto analysis is a technique for identifying the most critical problems to address. It involves ranking problems by impact and frequency and first focusing on the most significant issues. For example, a software development team could use Pareto analysis to prioritize bugs and issues to fix based on their impact on the user experience.
  • Decision Matrix Analysis: Decision matrix analysis evaluates alternatives and selects the best course of action. It involves creating a matrix to compare options based on criteria and weighting factors and selecting the option with the highest score. For example, a manager could use decision matrix analysis to evaluate different software vendors based on criteria such as price, features, and support and select the vendor with the best overall score.

Decision making techniques

  • Cost-Benefit Analysis: Cost-benefit analysis is a technique for evaluating the costs and benefits of different options. It involves comparing each option’s expected costs and benefits and selecting the one with the highest net benefit. For example, a company could use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate a new product line’s potential return on investment.
  • Decision Trees: Decision trees are a visual representation of the decision-making process. They involve mapping out different options and their potential outcomes and probabilities. This helps to identify the best course of action based on the likelihood of different outcomes. For example, a farmer could use a decision tree to choose crops to plant based on the expected weather patterns.
  • SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis can also be used for decision making. By identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of different options, a decision maker can evaluate each option’s potential risks and benefits. For example, a business owner could use SWOT analysis to assess the potential risks and benefits of expanding into a new market.
  • Pros and Cons Analysis: Pros and cons analysis lists the advantages and disadvantages of different options. It involves weighing the pros and cons of each option to determine the best course of action. For example, an individual could use a pros and cons analysis to decide whether to take a job offer.
  • Six Thinking Hats: The six thinking hats technique is a way to think about a problem from different perspectives. It involves using six different “hats” to consider various aspects of the decision. The hats include white (facts and figures), red (emotions and feelings), black (risks and drawbacks), yellow (benefits and opportunities), green (creativity and new ideas), and blue (overview and control). For example, a team could use the six thinking hats technique to evaluate different options for a marketing campaign.

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Aastha Bensla

Aastha, a passionate industrial psychologist, writer, and counselor, brings her unique expertise to Risely. With specialized knowledge in industrial psychology, Aastha offers a fresh perspective on personal and professional development. Her broad experience as an industrial psychologist enables her to accurately understand and solve problems for managers and leaders with an empathetic approach.

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Everybody can benefit from having good problem solving skills as we all encounter problems on a daily basis. Some of these problems are obviously more severe or complex than others.

It would be wonderful to have the ability to solve all problems efficiently and in a timely fashion without difficulty, unfortunately though there is no one way in which all problems can be solved.

You will discover, as you read through our pages on problem solving, that the subject is complex.

However well prepared we are for problem solving, there is always an element of the unknown. Although planning and structuring will help make the problem solving process more likely to be successful, good judgement and an element of good luck will ultimately determine whether problem solving was a success.

Interpersonal relationships fail and businesses fail because of poor problem solving.

This is often due to either problems not being recognised or being recognised but not being dealt with appropriately.

Problem solving skills are highly sought after by employers as many companies rely on their employees to identify and solve problems.

A lot of the work in problem solving involves understanding what the underlying issues of the problem really are - not the symptoms. Dealing with a customer complaint may be seen as a problem that needs to be solved, and it's almost certainly a good idea to do so. The employee dealing with the complaint should be asking what has caused the customer to complain in the first place, if the cause of the complaint can be eliminated then the problem is solved.

In order to be effective at problem solving you are likely to need some other key skills, which include:

Creativity. Problems are usually solved either intuitively or systematically. Intuition is used when no new knowledge is needed - you know enough to be able to make a quick decision and solve the problem, or you use common sense or experience to solve the problem. More complex problems or problems that you have not experienced before will likely require a more systematic and logical approach to solve, and for these you will need to use creative thinking. See our page on Creative Thinking for more information.

Researching Skills. Defining and solving problems often requires you to do some research: this may be a simple Google search or a more rigorous research project. See our Research Methods section for ideas on how to conduct effective research.

Team Working. Many problems are best defined and solved with the input of other people. Team working may sound like a 'work thing' but it is just as important at home and school as well as in the workplace. See our Team-Working page for more.

Emotional Intelligence. It is worth considering the impact that a problem and/or its solution has on you and other people. Emotional intelligence, the ability to recognise the emotions of yourself and others, will help guide you to an appropriate solution. See our Emotional Intelligence pages for more.

Risk Management. Solving a problem involves a certain amount of risk - this risk needs to be weighed up against not solving the problem. You may find our Risk Management page useful.

Decision Making . Problem solving and decision making are closely related skills, and making a decision is an important part of the problem solving process as you will often be faced with various options and alternatives. See Decision Making for more.

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.

John Foster Dulles, Former US Secretary of State.

What is a Problem?

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1995) defines a problem as:

“ A doubtful or difficult matter requiring a solution ”
“ Something hard to understand or accomplish or deal with.”

It is worth also considering our own view of what a problem is.

We are constantly exposed to opportunities in life, at work, at school and at home. However many opportunities are missed or not taken full advantage of. Often we are unsure how to take advantage of an opportunity and create barriers - reasons why we can't take advantage. These barriers can turn a potentially positive situation into a negative one, a problem.

Are we missing the 'big problem'? It is human nature to notice and focus on small, easy to solve problems but much harder to work on the big problems that may be causing some of the smaller ones.

It's useful to consider the following questions when faced with a problem.

Is the problem real or perceived?

Is this problem really an opportunity?

Does the problem need solving?

All problems have two features in common: goals and barriers.

Problems involve setting out to achieve some objective or desired state of affairs and can include avoiding a situation or event.

Goals can be anything that you wish to achieve, or where you want to be. If you are hungry then your goal is probably to eat something. If you are the head of an organisation (CEO), then your main goal may be to maximise profits and this main goal may need to be split into numerous sub-goals in order to fulfil the ultimate aim of increasing profits.

If there were no barriers in the way of achieving a goal, then there would be no problem. Problem solving involves overcoming the barriers or obstacles that prevent the immediate achievement of goals.

Following our examples above, if you feel hungry then your goal is to eat. A barrier to this may be that you have no food available - so you take a trip to the supermarket and buy some food, removing the barrier and thus solving the problem. Of course for the CEO wanting to increase profits there may be many more barriers preventing the goal from being reached. The CEO needs to attempt to recognise these barriers and remove them or find other ways to achieve the goals of the organisation.

Our problem solving pages provide a simple and structured approach to problem solving.

The approach referred to is generally designed for problem solving in an organisation or group context, but can also be easily adapted to work at an individual level at home or in education.

Trying to solve a complex problem alone however can be a mistake. The old adage " A problem shared is a problem halved " is sound advice.

Talking to others about problems is not only therapeutic but can help you see things from a different point of view, opening up more potential solutions.

Stages of Problem Solving

Effective problem solving usually involves working through a number of steps or stages, such as those outlined below.

Problem Identification:

This stage involves: detecting and recognising that there is a problem; identifying the nature of the problem; defining the problem.

The first phase of problem solving may sound obvious but often requires more thought and analysis. Identifying a problem can be a difficult task in itself. Is there a problem at all? What is the nature of the problem, are there in fact numerous problems? How can the problem be best defined? By spending some time defining the problem you will not only understand it more clearly yourself but be able to communicate its nature to others, which leads to the second phase.

Structuring the Problem:

This stage involves: a period of observation, careful inspection, fact-finding and developing a clear picture of the problem.

Following on from problem identification, structuring the problem is all about gaining more information about the problem and increasing understanding. This phase is all about fact finding and analysis, building a more comprehensive picture of both the goal(s) and the barrier(s). This stage may not be necessary for very simple problems but is essential for problems of a more complex nature.

Looking for Possible Solutions:

During this stage you will generate a range of possible courses of action, but with little attempt to evaluate them at this stage.

From the information gathered in the first two phases of the problem solving framework it is now time to start thinking about possible solutions to the identified problem. In a group situation this stage is often carried out as a brain-storming session, letting each person in the group express their views on possible solutions (or part solutions). In organisations different people will have different expertise in different areas and it is useful, therefore, to hear the views of each concerned party.

Making a Decision:

This stage involves careful analysis of the different possible courses of action and then selecting the best solution for implementation.

This is perhaps the most complex part of the problem solving process. Following on from the previous step it is now time to look at each potential solution and carefully analyse it. Some solutions may not be possible, due to other problems like time constraints or budgets. It is important at this stage to also consider what might happen if nothing was done to solve the problem - sometimes trying to solve a problem that leads to many more problems requires some very creative thinking and innovative ideas.

Finally, make a decision on which course of action to take - decision making is an important skill in itself and we recommend that you see our pages on decision making .

Implementation:

This stage involves accepting and carrying out the chosen course of action.

Implementation means acting on the chosen solution. During implementation more problems may arise especially if identification or structuring of the original problem was not carried out fully.

Monitoring/Seeking Feedback:

The last stage is about reviewing the outcomes of problem solving over a period of time, including seeking feedback as to the success of the outcomes of the chosen solution.

The final stage of problem solving is concerned with checking that the process was successful. This can be achieved by monitoring and gaining feedback from people affected by any changes that occurred. It is good practice to keep a record of outcomes and any additional problems that occurred.

Continue to: Identifying and Structuring Problems Social Problem Solving

See also: Project Management Risk Management Effective Decision Making

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This is how effective teams navigate the decision-making process

Zero Magic 8 Balls required.

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Flipping a coin. Throwing a dart at a board. Pulling a slip of paper out of a hat.

Sure, they’re all ways to make a choice. But they all hinge on random chance rather than analysis, reflection, and strategy — you know, the things you actually need to make the big, meaty decisions that have major impacts.

So, set down that Magic 8 Ball and back away slowly. Let’s walk through the standard framework for decision-making that will help you and your team pinpoint the problem, consider your options, and make your most informed selection. Here’s a closer look at each of the seven steps of the decision-making process, and how to approach each one. 

Step 1: Identify the decision

Most of us are eager to tie on our superhero capes and jump into problem-solving mode — especially if our team is depending on a solution. But you can’t solve a problem until you have a full grasp on what it actually is .

This first step focuses on getting the lay of the land when it comes to your decision. What specific problem are you trying to solve? What goal are you trying to achieve? 

How to do it: 

  • Use the 5 whys analysis to go beyond surface-level symptoms and understand the root cause of a problem.
  • Try problem framing to dig deep on the ins and outs of whatever problem your team is fixing. The point is to define the problem, not solve it. 

⚠️ Watch out for: Decision fatigue , which is the tendency to make worse decisions as a result of needing to make too many of them. Making choices is mentally taxing , which is why it’s helpful to pinpoint one decision at a time. 

2. Gather information

Your team probably has a few hunches and best guesses, but those can lead to knee-jerk reactions. Take care to invest adequate time and research into your decision.

This step is when you build your case, so to speak. Collect relevant information — that could be data, customer stories, information about past projects, feedback, or whatever else seems pertinent. You’ll use that to make decisions that are informed, rather than impulsive.

  • Host a team mindmapping session to freely explore ideas and make connections between them. It can help you identify what information will best support the process.
  • Create a project poster to define your goals and also determine what information you already know and what you still need to find out. 

⚠️ Watch out for: Information bias , or the tendency to seek out information even if it won’t impact your action. We have the tendency to think more information is always better, but pulling together a bunch of facts and insights that aren’t applicable may cloud your judgment rather than offer clarity. 

3. Identify alternatives

Use divergent thinking to generate fresh ideas in your next brainstorm

Use divergent thinking to generate fresh ideas in your next brainstorm

Blame the popularity of the coin toss, but making a decision often feels like choosing between only two options. Do you want heads or tails? Door number one or door number two? In reality, your options aren’t usually so cut and dried. Take advantage of this opportunity to get creative and brainstorm all sorts of routes or solutions. There’s no need to box yourselves in. 

  • Use the Six Thinking Hats technique to explore the problem or goal from all sides: information, emotions and instinct, risks, benefits, and creativity. It can help you and your team break away from your typical roles or mindsets and think more freely.
  • Try brainwriting so team members can write down their ideas independently before sharing with the group. Research shows that this quiet, lone thinking time can boost psychological safety and generate more creative suggestions .

⚠️ Watch out for: Groupthink , which is the tendency of a group to make non-optimal decisions in the interest of conformity. People don’t want to rock the boat, so they don’t speak up. 

4. Consider the evidence

Armed with your list of alternatives, it’s time to take a closer look and determine which ones could be worth pursuing. You and your team should ask questions like “How will this solution address the problem or achieve the goal?” and “What are the pros and cons of this option?” 

Be honest with your answers (and back them up with the information you already collected when you can). Remind the team that this isn’t about advocating for their own suggestions to “win” — it’s about whittling your options down to the best decision. 

How to do it:

  • Use a SWOT analysis to dig into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the options you’re seriously considering.
  • Run a project trade-off analysis to understand what constraints (such as time, scope, or cost) the team is most willing to compromise on if needed. 

⚠️ Watch out for: Extinction by instinct , which is the urge to make a decision just to get it over with. You didn’t come this far to settle for a “good enough” option! 

5. Choose among the alternatives

This is it — it’s the big moment when you and the team actually make the decision. You’ve identified all possible options, considered the supporting evidence, and are ready to choose how you’ll move forward.

However, bear in mind that there’s still a surprising amount of room for flexibility here. Maybe you’ll modify an alternative or combine a few suggested solutions together to land on the best fit for your problem and your team. 

  • Use the DACI framework (that stands for “driver, approver, contributor, informed”) to understand who ultimately has the final say in decisions. The decision-making process can be collaborative, but eventually someone needs to be empowered to make the final call.
  • Try a simple voting method for decisions that are more democratized. You’ll simply tally your team’s votes and go with the majority. 

⚠️ Watch out for: Analysis paralysis , which is when you overthink something to such a great degree that you feel overwhelmed and freeze when it’s time to actually make a choice. 

6. Take action

Making a big decision takes a hefty amount of work, but it’s only the first part of the process — now you need to actually implement it. 

It’s tempting to think that decisions will work themselves out once they’re made. But particularly in a team setting, it’s crucial to invest just as much thought and planning into communicating the decision and successfully rolling it out. 

  • Create a stakeholder communications plan to determine how you’ll keep various people — direct team members, company leaders, customers, or whoever else has an active interest in your decision — in the loop on your progress.
  • Define the goals, signals, and measures of your decision so you’ll have an easier time aligning the team around the next steps and determining whether or not they’re successful. 

⚠️Watch out for: Self-doubt, or the tendency to question whether or not you’re making the right move. While we’re hardwired for doubt , now isn’t the time to be a skeptic about your decision. You and the team have done the work, so trust the process. 

7. Review your decision

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As the decision itself starts to shake out, it’s time to take a look in the rearview mirror and reflect on how things went.

Did your decision work out the way you and the team hoped? What happened? Examine both the good and the bad. What should you keep in mind if and when you need to make this sort of decision again? 

  • Do a 4 L’s retrospective to talk through what you and the team loved, loathed, learned, and longed for as a result of that decision.
  • Celebrate any wins (yes, even the small ones ) related to that decision. It gives morale a good kick in the pants and can also help make future decisions feel a little less intimidating.

⚠️ Watch out for: Hindsight bias , or the tendency to look back on events with the knowledge you have now and beat yourself up for not knowing better at the time. Even with careful thought and planning, some decisions don’t work out — but you can only operate with the information you have at the time. 

Making smart decisions about the decision-making process

You’re probably picking up on the fact that the decision-making process is fairly comprehensive. And the truth is that the model is likely overkill for the small and inconsequential decisions you or your team members need to make.

Deciding whether you should order tacos or sandwiches for your team offsite doesn’t warrant this much discussion and elbow grease. But figuring out which major project to prioritize next? That requires some careful and collaborative thought. 

It all comes back to the concept of satisficing versus maximizing , which are two different perspectives on decision making. Here’s the gist:

  • Maximizers aim to get the very best out of every single decision.
  • Satisficers are willing to settle for “good enough” rather than obsessing over achieving the best outcome.

One of those isn’t necessarily better than the other — and, in fact, they both have their time and place.

A major decision with far-reaching impacts deserves some fixation and perfectionism. However, hemming and hawing over trivial choices ( “Should we start our team meeting with casual small talk or a structured icebreaker?” ) will only cause added stress, frustration, and slowdowns. 

As with anything else, it’s worth thinking about the potential impacts to determine just how much deliberation and precision a decision actually requires. 

Decision-making is one of those things that’s part art and part science. You’ll likely have some gut feelings and instincts that are worth taking into account. But those should also be complemented with plenty of evidence, evaluation, and collaboration.

The decision-making process is a framework that helps you strike that balance. Follow the seven steps and you and your team can feel confident in the decisions you make — while leaving the darts and coins where they belong.

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The Most Important Decision-Making Skills (With Examples)

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Good decision-making skills are sought by almost all companies. Whether you’re applying for an entry-level position or an executive role, you should highlight your decision-making skills throughout the application process.

In this article, we will go over what decision-making skills are, how to improve your skills in this area, and how to highlight your ability to make good decisions.

Key Takeaways:

You make decisions every day for various functions, from personal to professional, and consistently making good decisions can only help your career.

There are three main ways to approach decision-making: using intuition, reasoning, or a combination of both.

When making a decision you should identify the problem, do some research, and evaluate your options before you make a decision.

The most important decision-making skills with examples.

What are decision-making skills?

The most important decision-making skills, more decision-making skills, the decision-making process, how to improve your decision-making skills, how to highlight your decision-making skills while job hunting, decisiveness skills faqs.

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Decision-making skills are about your ability to choose a good option out of two or more alternatives. It takes a host of skills to be able to quickly and compassionately make wise choices that are good for both the present and the future.

There are three main categories of decision-making skills that correspond to three different ways to make decisions: using intuition, reasoning, or a combination of both.

Intuition is your default response, or the gut feeling you get when presented with a problem or decision to make. This first reaction comes from a combination of things you’ve learned, experiences you’ve had, and opinions you hold, so everyone’s intuition is different.

Using intuition means basing your decision on your lived experiences, so it can be subjective. Skills like creativity and emotional intelligence fall into this category.

Reasoning , on the other hand, is rooted in data. You reason when you use the data available to you and only base a decision on facts and figures instead of your instinctive reaction. This is a more objective way to come to a decision and it’s usually how bigger decisions are made.

Problem-solving and logical thinking are examples of decision-making skills in this category.

Both. Most often, decisions are made with some combination of both intuition and reasoning. Using both is a good way to check and make sure your choice is logical while also paying attention to the human element of it.

Since we make decisions all the time, we usually don’t stop to think about whether we should make an intuition-based or reason-based decision. Instead, we naturally use a combination of the two.

Many skills go into making effective decisions, from problem-solving to emotional intelligence. Here are some of the most important ones:

Problem-solving. The number one skill you need to be an effective decision-maker is problem-solving. Since decisions are just a type of problem (determining which option is the best), having strong problem-solving skills is definitely an asset.

If you approach a decision from a logical mindset as if it were a problem to solve, odds are that the solutions you come up with and your final decision will be stronger.

Choosing a reliable manufacturer to supply the product you sell. Comparing candidates to the job requirements. Reassigning tasks when an employee unexpectedly resigns.

Collaboration. Decisions can’t always be made by one person. You need to have good collaboration and compromise skills to make the best decision sometimes when it involves a group.

Even when you’re making a decision on your own, getting extra input from friends or coworkers can help you brainstorm the best outcome. Collaboration is your friend, both when you need to make a group decision and when you’re the one responsible for making the decision.

Brainstorming potential names for a new product. Asking staff about the impact of extended hours. Listening to employee needs and preferences for a new office space.

Emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence , or EQ, is the ability to observe and understand your own emotions and the emotions of the people around you. Being able to take emotions into account will make you a stronger decision-maker.

Think of this as related to intuitive decision-making. You need to balance facts, figures, and emotions to come to a good decision.

Proposing the best way to boost sales. Evaluating the impact of cutting spending. Choosing an interim manager from an internal pool.

Logical reasoning. This skill is key for the middle steps of the decision-making process. Being able to fully evaluate and analyze your information, options, and decisions will make your decisions stronger.

This skill is more closely related to reasoning, the side of decision-making that relies on facts and figures instead of on emotions.

Deciding how bonuses will be given for the year. Choosing which employee or employees to lay off. Creating an employee schedule based on time off requests and coverage needs.

Creativity. The more creative you are in your problem-solving, the better options and potential outcomes you’ll have to work with, as well as having creative ways to implement your decision.

The most straightforward option isn’t always the best one, and sometimes you need to think outside the box to find a solution that meets everyone’s needs.

Arranging a small office space so that everyone can fit comfortably and be productive. Finding ways to lower costs without sacrificing performance. Developing a new record-keeping system that meets your team’s needs.

Organization . Being organized can help you keep all of your background information, options, and other tools in order.

This allows you to stay clear-headed in your decision-making, reducing the risk that you’ll overlook a key piece of information. It can also help you feel less overwhelmed by the decision, which also results in better choices.

Creating a centralized calendar where employees can update their schedule preferences. Organizing data that will help you decide whether or not to continue a project. Collecting employee feedback in survey form to make it simpler to see what the majority wants.

There are many more skills that will help you sharpen your ability to make good decisions. Take a look at this list and see what you’re already good at and where you could improve.

Time management. Making decisions in a timely manner isn’t just about making a quick, hasty decision. Managing your time to properly work through the seven steps is a skill that will put you above everyone else.

Leadership . When collaborating and making a group decision, someone needs to take charge and make sure the decision is implemented, which is when good leadership skills are needed.

Ethics. Making ethical decisions is a necessary skill to have, so knowing how to weigh the ethical pros and cons is key.

Research . The better research you can gather in the first steps of the decision-making process, the better prepared you’ll be to make a good decision.

Analysis . Having strong analytical skills will help you ensure that your decisions are logical and reasonable.

Flexibility. Quick-thinking and flexibility are your friends when it comes to making decisions since sometimes you’ll have to compromise or new constraints will pop up, changing how you approach a decision.

Effective decision-makers use a seven-step process to tackle decisions. While it isn’t necessary to go through these exact steps when you make a basic decision, like what to cook for dinner, it can be a great way to check your thinking as you make a big work decision, like which strategy will lead to better sales.

Identify the problem. First, you need to see the decision that you need to make and understand what will go into making that decision. This step is crucial since everything else builds upon what you do here.

Make sure you properly understand the situation, what’s being asked of you, and what tools you have available to you before moving to the next step.

Do some digging. For any decision you’ll need some background information to help you choose the right option. Sometimes this means just thinking back to details from meetings, or it can be doing more sophisticated research. You can use step one to help you identify what information you’ll need to make a good decision.

Think creatively. In this step you want to think of as many solutions as possible. It doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad, you just want to consider all of your options.

Feel free to be as creative in your thinking as you want with this step. There are no bad options here since you want to think of every possible outcome. You’ll have a chance to check all of your brainstormed options later.

Evaluate your options. Here’s the part where you’ll give all your potential outcomes a second check. Go through the list of solutions you came up with in step three and test which ones feel better or sound more logical to you.

Don’t forget to keep your end goal in mind when you consider all the choices. That way you’re sure to make a good decision.

Make the decision . It’s time to pick one of the options you came up with. Keep in mind that you can choose a solution you came up with or even combine solutions to make the best decision possible. Reflect on your process for step four and pick the decision you feel best about.

Act on your decision. Once you’ve decided what to do, you need to start taking the actions that will help you implement the decision. These can be big or small steps, but stay focused and resolved to get the job done.

Don’t be afraid to bring other people into your process in this step. Especially for large workplace decisions, you might want to call on your coworkers to help you get things done.

Look back. When your decision is made and you’ve had some time to see its effects, take a second to evaluate that decision. Think about whether the decision had the outcome you wanted it to, or if it wasn’t so successful.

Taking this time to reflect on your decision-making is a great way to not only improve your ability to make a good decision but also to learn more about yourself. You can even ask other people for their opinion on the effects of a decision to see how your perception of the impact lines up with others’ opinions.

To improve your decision-making skills, practice goal-setting, reducing your number of choices, and conducting good research. You should also work on your communication skills and give yourself a limit on how long you have to make a decisions.

Set good goals . Having your eye on the big picture is enormously helpful when it comes to decision-making. Someone can make all the right decisions, but if their ultimate goal is wrongheaded, then those great decisions don’t add up to anything useful.

Reduce choice. Americans love options, but being inundated with too many potential choices can paralyze you. Before you begin making decisions, try to narrow down your possible choices to the top three.

Research. Decision-making isn’t easy when you don’t have all the facts in front of you. Good decisions are predicated on good data, so start working to improve your research skills. The greater your knowledge and expertise, the simpler most decisions become.

Communicate early and often. Communication skills complement decision-making skills well. Whether you’re seeking out advice or expressing a project’s goal, thorough communication helps you make decisions more effectively.

Don’t analyze forever. The phrase “paralysis by analysis” is all too true. Don’t be afraid to make small decisions without 100% of the information you might need. A few minor failures can actually help generate better ideas. Start with the minimum viable solution, and iterate from there.

To highlight your decision-making skills in your job search , look for decision-making skills and terms in the job description, and incorporate any that apply to you into your resume and cover letter. You should also highlight them in your interview answers.

Check the job description. Read the job description carefully and look for words that indicate decision-making like:

Incorporate the decision-making skills from the job description into your resume. Look for ways to incorporate the same language from the job description into your resume .

Let’s take a look at an example resume’s work experience section showcasing decision-making skills:

Saved product team over $50k annually in materials costs by analyzing low ROI spends and rerouting funds to lucrative projects Reduced accounting labor hours by 21% by automating payroll systems and creating streamlined tracking spreadsheets Optimized virtual meeting schedule, netting an average of 3 hours of meetings saved weekly, while improving employee productivity by 6%

Expound on your decision-making skills in your cover letter. A cover letter should cover similar accomplishments where you leveraged your top-notch decision-making skills. However, you can go into more detail about one or two accomplishments, rather than briefly touching on them as you would in a resume .

Highlight your decision-making skills in your interview. For a job interview , it’s equally important to know what metrics your performance will be judged on. By showing that you’re already thinking of how to achieve the most important results, you’re painting yourself as a candidate with great decision-making abilities.

What are the key skills for decision-making?

Key skills for decision-making are problem-solving, logical reasoning, and emotional intelligence. These skills combine to help you navigate almost any decision. This is because you use your logic and EQ to consider your reasoning and intuition and come up with a balanced approach. Your problem-solving skills will also help you build confidence when you have to make a choice and stick with it.

How can I be a good decision maker?

To be good at making decisions, match your decision based on your goals and values. This ensures that your decision is one that you can stand by, regardless of the outcome. However, sometimes this is hard to figure out.

If you struggle to make decisions, make sure to manage your stress, consider all the outcomes, and weigh the pros and cons. Additionally, if you can, take some time to avoid making rash decisions. It also helps to talk to others or to write out your thoughts and feelings in the process.

What are the characteristics of a good decision?

A good decision comes with clear reasoning, judgment of values, and is realistically accomplished. As long as your decision does not bring harm to others, you can use these characteristics to determine whether or not your decision was a good one. Your decisions should, in one way or another, bring you closer to your goals, both big and small.

What is strategic decision-making?

Strategic decision-making is when you base short-term decisions on long-term goals. In a sense, your decisions are part of your “strategy” to achieve some end. Strategic decision-making is particularly useful for businesses when they need to align daily needs with long-term objectives.

How do you demonstrate strong decision-making skills?

Demonstrate strong decision-making skills by providing examples of times you’ve used good decision-making skills. You can do this in your resume, cover letter , or during your interview.

Consumer Protection Financial Bureau – Financial Knowledge and Decision-Making Skills

Harvard Business School – 5 Key Decision-Making Techniques For Managers

UMass Dartmouth – Decision-Making Process

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Amanda is a writer with experience in various industries, including travel, real estate, and career advice. After taking on internships and entry-level jobs, she is familiar with the job search process and landing that crucial first job. Included in her experience is work at an employer/intern matching startup where she marketed an intern database to employers and supported college interns looking for work experience.

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Problem solving vs decision making is a critical comparison to make, as it helps us differentiate these two essential skills.

Problem Solving: A Systematic Approach

Problem solving is a structured, methodical process aimed at identifying possible answers or solutions to a given situation. To effectively solve a problem, it’s essential to distinguish between causes and symptoms. For instance, when dealing with an issue like a malfunctioning AC, ensure that the actual problem, like dead batteries or incorrect settings, is identified before rushing to a solution. This systematic approach not only saves time but also prevents missteps. Effective problem-solving skills are crucial in daily life, whether you’re an individual or part of a larger organization. Leaders and managers, especially, rely on these skills to address complex issues.

Decision Making: The Culmination of Problem Solving

The relationship between problem solving vs decision making is such that decision making is the action that arises from insights collected during the problem-solving process. To make sound decisions, you need to consider multiple options, evaluate their impact on the organization, weigh the ethical considerations, and assess the effect on all involved parties. Decisions need to be made in a timely manner, with a list of priorities to guide you when facing multiple issues. Successful decision making is especially vital for leaders and managers, as their choices significantly influence the people under their care.

Two Types of Decision Makers

Understanding the two predominant types of decision makers can provide valuable insights into effective decision making.

Methodical Decision Makers

This type adopts a rational and methodical approach in the problem solving vs decision making dilemma. They gather information, consult others, and meticulously analyze the available options. Their decisions are well-reasoned and data-driven, making them suitable for complex, critical choices. This approach is common among professionals and leaders who need to ensure that decisions are thoroughly evaluated.

Instinctive Decision Makers

Instinctive decision makers rely on their emotions and intuition in the problem solving vs decision making process. While their decisions can be creative, they may struggle to explain the reasoning behind their choices. This approach is often driven by spontaneity and may work well for less complex, day-to-day decisions. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance between intuition and reason, as gut feelings alone may not suffice in complex situations.

Problem solving vs decision making: it's crucial to strike a balance between intuition and reason.

The Importance of Problem Solving vs Decision Making Skills

The significance of problem-solving vs decision-making skills cannot be overstated.

Leaders and Managers’ Role

Leaders and managers play a critical role in driving the decision-making process, making them central figures in the problem solving vs decision making debate. Their decisions shape the course of their organizations and the lives of those they lead. Developing effective decision-making skills is an ongoing process for them.

Enhancing the Decision-Making Process

Once a decision is made in the problem solving vs decision making context, it must be implemented and evaluated. This step provides valuable insights into the decision-making process and the effectiveness of the chosen solution. The gathered information can help improve future decision making.

Why List Possible Solutions?

Listing possible solutions is a fundamental aspect of the decision-making process in the problem solving vs decision making challenge. It allows you to explore alternatives and ensure that the most suitable option is chosen. It also helps you consider the broader impact of your decision, including cost, ethics, and how it affects all parties involved.

In conclusion, the comparison of problem solving vs decision making is crucial for understanding their respective roles. Methodical and instinctive decision-making approaches each have their place, and leaders and managers must strike a balance between them. Effective decision making and problem-solving skills are crucial in navigating the complex challenges of the modern world. By understanding the relationship between these two processes and constantly refining these skills, individuals and organizations can make more informed and impactful choices.

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Team Building Exercises – Problem Solving and Decision Making

Fun ways to turn problems into opportunities.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

making a decision problem solving skills

Whether there's a complex project looming or your team members just want to get better at dealing with day-to-day issues, your people can achieve much more when they solve problems and make decisions together.

By developing their problem-solving skills, you can improve their ability to get to the bottom of complex situations. And by refining their decision-making skills, you can help them work together maturely, use different thinking styles, and commit collectively to decisions.

In this article, we'll look at three team-building exercises that you can use to improve problem solving and decision making in a new or established team.

Exercises to Build Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Skills

Use the following exercises to help your team members solve problems and make decisions together more effectively.

Exercise 1: Lost at Sea*

In this activity, participants must pretend that they've been shipwrecked and are stranded in a lifeboat. Each team has a box of matches, and a number of items that they've salvaged from the sinking ship. Members must agree which items are most important for their survival.

Download and print our team-building exercises worksheet to help you with this exercise.

This activity builds problem-solving skills as team members analyze information, negotiate and cooperate with one another. It also encourages them to listen and to think about the way they make decisions.

What You'll Need

  • Up to five people in each group.
  • A large, private room.
  • A "lost at sea" ranking chart for each team member. This should comprise six columns. The first simply lists each item (see below). The second is empty so that each team member can rank the items. The third is for group rankings. The fourth is for the "correct" rankings, which are revealed at the end of the exercise. And the fifth and sixth are for the team to enter the difference between their individual and correct score, and the team and correct rankings, respectively.
  • The items to be ranked are: a mosquito net, a can of petrol, a water container, a shaving mirror, a sextant, emergency rations, a sea chart, a floating seat or cushion, a rope, some chocolate bars, a waterproof sheet, a fishing rod, shark repellent, a bottle of rum, and a VHF radio. These can be listed in the ranking chart or displayed on a whiteboard, or both.
  • The experience can be made more fun by having some lost-at-sea props in the room.

Flexible, but normally between 25 and 40 minutes.

Instructions

  • Divide participants into their teams, and provide everyone with a ranking sheet.
  • Ask team members to take 10 minutes on their own to rank the items in order of importance. They should do this in the second column of their sheet.
  • Give the teams a further 10 minutes to confer and decide on their group rankings. Once agreed, they should list them in the third column of their sheets.
  • Ask each group to compare their individual rankings with their collective ones, and consider why any scores differ. Did anyone change their mind about their own rankings during the team discussions? How much were people influenced by the group conversation?
  • Now read out the "correct" order, collated by the experts at the US Coast Guard (from most to least important): - Shaving mirror. (One of your most powerful tools, because you can use it to signal your location by reflecting the sun.) - Can of petrol. (Again, potentially vital for signaling as petrol floats on water and can be lit by your matches.) - Water container. (Essential for collecting water to restore your lost fluids.) -Emergency rations. (Valuable for basic food intake.) - Plastic sheet. (Could be used for shelter, or to collect rainwater.) -Chocolate bars. (A handy food supply.) - Fishing rod. (Potentially useful, but there is no guarantee that you're able to catch fish. Could also feasibly double as a tent pole.) - Rope. (Handy for tying equipment together, but not necessarily vital for survival.) - Floating seat or cushion. (Useful as a life preserver.) - Shark repellent. (Potentially important when in the water.) - Bottle of rum. (Could be useful as an antiseptic for treating injuries, but will only dehydrate you if you drink it.) - Radio. (Chances are that you're out of range of any signal, anyway.) - Sea chart. (Worthless without navigational equipment.) - Mosquito net. (Assuming that you've been shipwrecked in the Atlantic, where there are no mosquitoes, this is pretty much useless.) - Sextant. (Impractical without relevant tables or a chronometer.)

Advice for the Facilitator

The ideal scenario is for teams to arrive at a consensus decision where everyone's opinion is heard. However, that doesn't always happen naturally: assertive people tend to get the most attention. Less forthright team members can often feel intimidated and don't always speak up, particularly when their ideas are different from the popular view. Where discussions are one-sided, draw quieter people in so that everyone is involved, but explain why you're doing this, so that people learn from it.

You can use the Stepladder Technique when team discussion is unbalanced. Here, ask each team member to think about the problem individually and, one at a time, introduce new ideas to an appointed group leader – without knowing what ideas have already been discussed. After the first two people present their ideas, they discuss them together. Then the leader adds a third person, who presents his or her ideas before hearing the previous input. This cycle of presentation and discussion continues until the whole team has had a chance to voice their opinions.

After everyone has finished the exercise, invite your teams to evaluate the process to draw out their experiences. For example, ask them what the main differences between individual, team and official rankings were, and why. This will provoke discussion about how teams arrive at decisions, which will make people think about the skills they must use in future team scenarios, such as listening , negotiating and decision-making skills, as well as creativity skills for thinking "outside the box."

A common issue that arises in team decision making is groupthink . This can happen when a group places a desire for mutual harmony above a desire to reach the right decision, which prevents people from fully exploring alternative solutions.

If there are frequent unanimous decisions in any of your exercises, groupthink may be an issue. Suggest that teams investigate new ways to encourage members to discuss their views, or to share them anonymously.

Exercise 2: The Great Egg Drop*

In this classic (though sometimes messy!) game, teams must work together to build a container to protect an egg, which is dropped from a height. Before the egg drop, groups must deliver presentations on their solutions, how they arrived at them, and why they believe they will succeed.

This fun game develops problem-solving and decision-making skills. Team members have to choose the best course of action through negotiation and creative thinking.

  • Ideally at least six people in each team.
  • Raw eggs – one for each group, plus some reserves in case of accidents!
  • Materials for creating the packaging, such as cardboard, tape, elastic bands, plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws, and scissors.
  • Aprons to protect clothes, paper towels for cleaning up, and paper table cloths, if necessary.
  • Somewhere – ideally outside – that you can drop the eggs from. (If there is nowhere appropriate, you could use a step ladder or equivalent.)
  • Around 15 to 30 minutes to create the packages.
  • Approximately 15 minutes to prepare a one-minute presentation.
  • Enough time for the presentations and feedback (this will depend on the number of teams).
  • Time to demonstrate the egg "flight."
  • Put people into teams, and ask each to build a package that can protect an egg dropped from a specified height (say, two-and-a-half meters) with the provided materials.
  • Each team must agree on a nominated speaker, or speakers, for their presentation.
  • Once all teams have presented, they must drop their eggs, assess whether the eggs have survived intact, and discuss what they have learned.

When teams are making their decisions, the more good options they consider, the more effective their final decision is likely to be. Encourage your groups to look at the situation from different angles, so that they make the best decision possible. If people are struggling, get them to brainstorm – this is probably the most popular method of generating ideas within a team.

Ask the teams to explore how they arrived at their decisions, to get them thinking about how to improve this process in the future. You can ask them questions such as:

  • Did the groups take a vote, or were members swayed by one dominant individual?
  • How did the teams decide to divide up responsibilities? Was it based on people's expertise or experience?
  • Did everyone do the job they volunteered for?
  • Was there a person who assumed the role of "leader"?
  • How did team members create and deliver the presentation, and was this an individual or group effort?

Exercise 3: Create Your Own*

In this exercise, teams must create their own, brand new, problem-solving activity.

This game encourages participants to think about the problem-solving process. It builds skills such as creativity, negotiation and decision making, as well as communication and time management. After the activity, teams should be better equipped to work together, and to think on their feet.

  • Ideally four or five people in each team.
  • Paper, pens and flip charts.

Around one hour.

  • As the participants arrive, you announce that, rather than spending an hour on a problem-solving team-building activity, they must design an original one of their own.
  • Divide participants into teams and tell them that they have to create a new problem-solving team-building activity that will work well in their organization. The activity must not be one that they have already participated in or heard of.
  • After an hour, each team must present their new activity to everyone else, and outline its key benefits.

There are four basic steps in problem solving : defining the problem, generating solutions, evaluating and selecting solutions, and implementing solutions. Help your team to think creatively at each stage by getting them to consider a wide range of options. If ideas run dry, introduce an alternative brainstorming technique, such as brainwriting . This allows your people to develop one others' ideas, while everyone has an equal chance to contribute.

After the presentations, encourage teams to discuss the different decision-making processes they followed. You might ask them how they communicated and managed their time . Another question could be about how they kept their discussion focused. And to round up, you might ask them whether they would have changed their approach after hearing the other teams' presentations.

Successful decision making and problem solving are at the heart of all effective teams. While teams are ultimately led by their managers, the most effective ones foster these skills at all levels.

The exercises in this article show how you can encourage teams to develop their creative thinking, leadership , and communication skills , while building group cooperation and consensus.

* Original source unknown. Please let us know if you know the original source.

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  • Career Development

How To Use Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills at Work

Decision making and problem solving.

How to use problem-solving and decision-making skills

You can use a streamlined and organized process to solve problems and make decisions at work to increase your productivity. You can use the following five steps to improve your problem-solving and decision-making abilities:

1. Define the issue

The first step is to define the problem or issue. Analyze the problem once you’ve located it and consider what might have caused it. Try to identify any smaller issues within the main problem. Understanding the problem is essential before considering potential solutions and actions is important. Later in the process, it may be simpler to make decisions if the problem is clearly defined.

Give a clear definition or explanation of your problem so that everyone can understand it. You might query the issue’s requirements by asking:

These inquiries can help you and others fully comprehend the problem before moving forward with developing a solution by elucidating information related to it.

2. Brainstorm different approaches

Once the problem has been identified and examined, you can start formulating potential solutions. Try to get input from mentors and those involved with the issue in an effort to understand all sides of the issue. You might also consider how you’ve handled issues like this one in the past. Make sure to take into account both short- and long-term solutions to the problem. Additionally, consider how potential strategies would fit with the mission and objectives of your business.

To visualize your brainstorm, use tools like a whiteboard or online software. You can brainstorm alone or with others. Common brainstorming techniques include:

When coming up with ideas for solutions, try to be imaginative and consider as many different angles as you can, even if they seem unlikely. You can solve your current problem and prevent future problems by being creative and coming up with novel solutions that will benefit your business.

3. Evaluate different approaches

After youve brainstormed approaches, its time to evaluate them. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each choice, as well as how each would affect your organization. Additionally, consider the various resources that each choice would demand. Making the best choice for your business by taking into account all of these factors.

4. Make your decision

Once you’ve evaluated your options, it’s time to decide which one to use. You can choose from different decision-making structures, which include:

Once you’ve made a decision, make sure it fully resolves the problem and doesn’t raise any new ones. Make sure the choice is something your business can implement with reasonable success and that it is consistent with your company’s mission, vision, and values. Additionally, you must be able to communicate your choice to all parties concerned. In your workplace, effective communication can help to foster transparency and boost trust.

5. Implement your decision

Once you’ve made a decision, you must determine how to carry it out. Start by identifying main objectives and deliverables and creating deadlines. Then, outline specific steps to meet the objectives. You can assign responsibilities to the appropriate employees and include those who are involved in the issue in the implementation plan. After that, present your strategy to everyone involved in the problem and solicit feedback.

6. Monitor your progress

Once your strategy is established, be sure to keep track of your development over time. Determine whether your plans objectives have been met. You can also gather information or ask those involved for feedback to evaluate the efficacy of your choice. If a new choice is required, revise your strategy as necessary or go back to your brainstorm of potential solutions.

Problem-solving vs. decision-making

As both involve using information to guide a particular action, the terms “problem-solving” and “decision-making” are frequently used interchangeably. Making a decision is necessary to solve a problem, but that is where the similarities end. The primary distinction between the two is that the first is a procedure and the second is an action.

Why are problem-solving and decision-making important in the workplace?

Both problem-solving and decision-making abilities are crucial because they can enable you to deal with a variety of workplace situations. They work well together and can be applied to many of the same problems. Both problem-solving and decision-making involve critical thinking.

Problem-solving and decision-making are applicable to all careers and industries. Employers typically value these abilities in job candidates because both can assist businesses by resolving complex situations and problems. They demonstrate your capacity to consider various scenarios and reach decisions that are advantageous to the business.

For instance, a company might be dealing with a number of issues that all require time and resources. A good manager or leader must prioritize which issues. That entails reaching a number of decisions during the problem-solving process and then acting to solve the issue.

Problem-solving and decision-making tips

Here are some tips for solving problems and making decisions:

Develop related skills

You can enhance your ability to solve problems and make decisions by learning relevant skills. Some useful skills to develop include:

Communicate with other people

Reflect on your past decisions.

Your decision-making and problem-solving skills can be further enhanced by thinking back on previous decisions and solutions. Consider the decisions you’ve made in the past and their effectiveness. Think about the decision-making process you employed, and select elements that worked to include in your new problem-solving and decision-making process.

Learn more about your industry

Understanding your industry better can help you comprehend various situations and make the best decisions for your business. Through training, certifications, and courses, as well as by speaking with a mentor, you can gain knowledge about your industry.

Research other techniques

You can look into various methods and exercises to aid in decision-making and problem-solving. For instance, you could look into how a respected company resolves issues and makes decisions. This can assist you in developing fresh ideas and cutting-edge approaches to help you decide what’s best for your business.

What are the steps in problem solving and decision making?

  • Identify the problem.
  • Search for alternatives.
  • Weigh the alternatives.
  • Make a choice.
  • Implement the choice.
  • Evaluate the results and, if necessary, start the process again.

What are the 7 steps to problem solving?

  • Step 1: Identify the Problem. …
  • Step 2: Analyze the Problem. …
  • Step 3: Describe the Problem. …
  • Step 4: Look for Root Causes. …
  • Step 5: Develop Alternate Solutions. …
  • Step 6: Implement the Solution. …
  • Step 7: Measure the Results.

How will you improve problem solving and decision making skills?

  • Identify the problem. …
  • Do your research. …
  • Look for possible solutions. …
  • Make a decision. …
  • Put that decision into action. …
  • Await results.

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Campus Staff

May 5, 2023

Decision-making in Business and How a Business Administration Degree Can Help

Decision-making in Business and How a Business Administration Degree Can Help

Campus is the new alternative to online community college that provides a 100% live and online Associate of Arts in Business Administration degree program. Our comprehensive, career-focused business program equips students from across the U.S. with a solid foundation in core business principles to set them up for success no matter what their next step is. Read on to explore the world of business and how starting with a business degree might be your next best move.

To land a job, you have to show potential employers that you are able to meet their expectations. This means that understanding which skills are highly desired in the business world is important. Furthermore, you’ll want to look at universally-appreciated skills – not just industry-specific skills. One of the most important skills you could ever build, one that translates across just about any space, is decision-making.

Decision-making is a crucial aspect of business management and can play a key role in the success of any organization. Its importance cannot be overstated – business leaders are constantly confronted with complex situations and conflicts, and in the business world, these need to be solved or addressed quite quickly and efficiently in order for a business to grow. This key skill could be learned and developed through a quality business curriculum like the accredited associate degree in business administration program at Campus .

Types of Decisions to Make in the Business World

Business administrators and leaders need to make decisions based on a thorough, well-rounded analysis of relevant data and information. They additionally need to identify and consider the possible risks as well as benefits of each potential decision and figure out the best course of action – all of which should, of course, align with the company’s values and objectives.

Some examples of situations that you may face in the business space include:

  • Select a marketing strategy that would best perform with the company’s target audience
  • Finalize budgeting decisions around what strategies, products, and resources to invest in
  • Address a crisis situation or image conflict as soon as possible

Making Decisions and Solving Business Problems: the Breakdown

These are skills that the majority of employers consider to be must-haves . To run smoothly, an office must have employees that understand their roles and are able to make decisions on their own throughout the day. The ability to make smart decisions to keep business moving is an important one. Additionally, the ability to be problem-solvers is key. It is important that employees are able to solve problems and come up with solutions to common issues without interrupting their work or the work of others.

When employees are skilled in making decisions and solving problems, they are able to take control of even varied roles and responsibilities with relative ease. They become proficient in new areas more quickly because they take the initiative to conduct research and analyze their findings to determine the best possible solution. Some additional in-demand business skills you’d be able to learn through learning how to problem-solve and make decisions include

  • The ability to identify a problem. You might be surprised at just how difficult it can be to find the right problem that needs to be addressed. It is often not enough to uncover just any problem that needs solving; rather, it's important to quickly identify the root cause of a serious issue. The ability to quickly and accurately identify this is a valued skill in the workplace.
  • The ability to propose a solution. Once you find the right problem that needs to be addressed, it is time to find the right solution. This is equally as difficult, and equally as valuable as the ability to identify the problem in the first place.
  • The ability to evaluate options. There will often be a few different options that could potentially fix a problem. An employee skilled in solving problems and making decisions will be able to weigh them and pick the most efficient option available.
  • The ability to implement solutions. Finally, employees that are truly skilled in problem-solving will be able to successfully implement the solutions that they have uncovered.

As you can see, problem-solving and decision-making are skills that encompass a variety of different abilities – and they can all make a highly positive impact in the workplace. Showing them off on your resume and during an interview will then make you a more distinctive candidate for many entry-level business administration jobs , thanks to your valuable insights.

Pursuing Business Administration to Strengthen Your Skills

Business administration degree programs provide students with the types of considerations and scenarios presented in this article so that they are familiar with several of the common yet challenging decisions needed to be made within an organization. Students learn about different decision-making models, as well as the tools and techniques used to support the decision making-process.

Students also gain a more comprehensive understanding of the various business functions, including marketing, finance, human resources, and operations. By having a broad understanding of how businesses operate, students can then understand the interconnections between different departments within an organization and how their functions impact one another.

In turn, students are able to make more informed decisions. As a final note, business administration students also experience working in group projects and analyzing case studies that can then be applied to their own future experience at a company.

A business administration degree program, like the Campus online associate degree in business , is a great way to develop problem-solving and decision-making skills and prepare career-focused students for impactful roles in any business.

Want to learn more about Campus?

Our admissions advisors can answer your questions.

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Are You Being Emotionally Manipulated at Work?

  • Luis Velasquez

making a decision problem solving skills

Protect yourself with these five strategies.

Research has shown that emotional manipulation (EM) can significantly impact individuals’ well-being and productivity. It can systematically influence cognitive control, which is crucial for effective decision-making and problem-solving, and can also affect individuals’ interpersonal relationships and overall mental health, further impacting their productivity and satisfaction in the workplace. If you think you’re being emotionally manipulated at work, try these five strategies to protect yourself — and your workplace.

Sarah, a former client of mine, was an experienced professional known for her dedication and hard work ethic. Her manager shared a personal story of their own struggles with workload and implied that if Sarah were to take on additional work, she would demonstrate true loyalty and commitment to the team and make an impression on leadership. Sarah began to feel an increased sense of obligation, in addition to guilt and stress. She felt manipulated into a situation where saying no seemed like a betrayal and lack of commitment, even though the extra workload affected her well-being and even her own deliverables.

  • Luis Velasquez , MBA, Ph.D. is an executive coach who works with senior leaders and their teams to become more cohesive, effective, and resilient.  He is the founder and managing partner of  Velas Coaching LLC , a leadership facilitator at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a former University professor, and research scientist. Connect with him on  LinkedIn.

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How to Think Differently: 7 Easy Steps to Master Mental Models, Critical Thinking, Decision Making & Problem Solving

Publisher description.

Do you wish you could think differently and develop better problem-solving skills for those crucial moments when you need it most? The ability to think differently is one of the most valuable assets any individual could possess, yet it remains one of our most underdeveloped abilities. If you are ready to be that one person who sees the world from a different perspective, this easy to follow 7-step solution to master mental models to make better decisions is the essential guide you need. YOU WILL LEARN: • How to become the master of your choices. • How to develop your critical thinking abilities. • How to think logically and reasonably. • How to learn to see the bigger picture. • How to become a master strategist by thinking like one. • Understanding the abundance and scarcity mindset. • Why reflection before action matters. 7-Steps is all you need to start bringing about a shift in your mindset for the better. Begin your journey now!

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  1. Decision Making and Problem Solving

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  3. Mastering Decision Making and Problem Solving

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  4. Creative Problem Solving and Decision Making

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  5. Solving Problems and Making Good Decisions: 7 Steps

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  1. CHAPTER (4) Decision Making Techniques (Tools). Theoretical part

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  5. COMMUNICATION AND INTERPRETATION SKILLS AND DECISION MAKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING FOR UPPSC

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COMMENTS

  1. The 7 steps of Effective Problem Solving and Decision Making

    Problem solving and decision making are two fascinating skillsets. We call them out as two separate skills - and they are - but they also make use of the same core attributes. They feed on a need to communicate well, both through questioning and listening, and be patient and not rushing both processes through.

  2. Decision-Making and Problem-Solving

    Introduction to Problem-Solving This page provides a general introduction to the idea of problem-solving. It explores the idea of goals (things that you want to achieve) and barriers (things that may prevent you from achieving your goals), and explains the problem-solving process at a broad level. Identifying and Structuring Problems

  3. Decision-Making Skills: Definition and Examples

    The following skills contribute to decision-making and are good things to highlight on your resume: Problem-solving Leadership Reasoning Intuition Teamwork Emotional Intelligence Creativity Time management Organization Problem-solving Problem-solving skills are an important part of decision-making.

  4. Decision-Making and Problem-Solving: What's the Difference?

    Here are five steps that you can follow to make the most of your problem-solving and decision-making skills: 1. Define the issue The first step is to define the problem or issue. Once you've pinpointed the issue, analyze it and think about what might have caused it. Try to identify any smaller issues within the main problem.

  5. Problem Solving And Decision Making: 10 Hacks That Managers Love

    Problem solving requires critical thinking, creativity, and analytical skills. It is a process that can resolve simple and complex problems in various contexts, such as personal, professional, and organizational settings. Decision making: Decision making is the process of choosing a course of action from among several alternatives.

  6. Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making

    Recommendations Testimonials Reviews What you'll learn Explain both the affordances and limitations associated with problem-solving and decision-making Reflect on how mindset and personal bias influence your ability to solve problems and make decisions

  7. 7 Problem-Solving Skills That Can Help You Be a More ...

    7 skills that make problem-solving easier Companies depend on managers who can solve problems adeptly. Although problem-solving is a skill in its own right, a subset of seven skills can help make the process of problem-solving easier. These include analysis, communication, emotional intelligence, resilience, creativity, adaptability, and teamwork.

  8. How to Make Great Decisions, Quickly

    Summary. As a new leader, learning to make good decisions without hesitation and procrastination is a capability that can set you apart from your peers. While others vacillate on tricky choices,...

  9. Problem Solving Skills

    Decision Making. Problem solving and decision making are closely related skills, and making a decision is an important part of the problem solving process as you will often be faced with various options and alternatives. See Decision Making for more. The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is ...

  10. Decision-Making Process: Steps, Tips, and Strategies

    Here's a closer look at each of the seven steps of the decision-making process, and how to approach each one. Step 1: Identify the decision. Most of us are eager to tie on our superhero capes and jump into problem-solving mode — especially if our team is depending on a solution.

  11. The Most Important Decision-Making Skills (With Examples)

    Problem-solving and logical thinking are examples of decision-making skills in this category. Both. Most often, decisions are made with some combination of both intuition and reasoning. Using both is a good way to check and make sure your choice is logical while also paying attention to the human element of it.

  12. Develop Critical Thinking, Decision-Making, and Problem-Solving Skills

    Critical Thinking By: Mike Figliuolo Learn the basics of critical thinking, an essential skill for problem-solving and decision-making. 1,113,494 viewers Released Jun 6, 2016 3 45m Critical...

  13. Tips And Techniques For Problem-Solving And Decision-Making

    There are two main approaches to problem-solving and decision-making: vertical thinking and horizontal thinking. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, so understanding the...

  14. Problem-solving skills: definitions and examples

    To solve a problem effectively, you need to use a range of different skills. Here are some examples of the skills and abilities you may use when solving a problem at work: Research. Analysis. Decision-making. Communication.

  15. What Are Problem-Solving Skills? Definitions and Examples

    Creativity. Communication. Decision-making. Team-building. Problem-solving skills are important in every career at every level. As a result, effective problem-solving may also require industry or job-specific technical skills. For example, a registered nurse will need active listening and communication skills when interacting with patients but ...

  16. The Importance of Problem Solving vs Decision Making Skills

    Instinctive Decision Makers. Instinctive decision makers rely on their emotions and intuition in the problem solving vs decision making process. While their decisions can be creative, they may struggle to explain the reasoning behind their choices. This approach is often driven by spontaneity and may work well for less complex, day-to-day ...

  17. Team Building Exercises

    Tip: Download and print our team-building exercises worksheet to help you with this exercise. Uses This activity builds problem-solving skills as team members analyze information, negotiate and cooperate with one another. It also encourages them to listen and to think about the way they make decisions. What You'll Need

  18. How To Use Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills at Work

    You can use the following five steps to improve your problem-solving and decision-making abilities: 1. Define the issue. The first step is to define the problem or issue. Analyze the problem once you've located it and consider what might have caused it. Try to identify any smaller issues within the main problem.

  19. 4. Assessing complex problem-solving skills through the lens of

    One aspect of knowledge was common across all interviews: experts had their disciplinary knowledge organised in a manner optimised for making problem-solving decisions. Studies of expertise have previously observed highly interconnected knowledge structures (Egan and Greeno, 1974[24]; Klein, 2008[25]; Mosier et al., 2018[26]). We found that in ...

  20. The Power Of Critical Thinking: Enhancing Decision-Making And Problem

    Critical thinking enhances decision-making, problem-solving and communication abilities by fostering logical reasoning, analytical skills and an open mindset. It enables individuals to overcome ...

  21. WHAT ARE PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING SKILLS?

    When you are solving a problem, you also end up making a few decisions necessary for the right outcome. The main aim of problem-solving is to come up with the right solution. Problem-solving ...

  22. How to Test Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills

    A more indirect and psychological way to test a candidate's problem-solving and decision-making skills is to use personality tests. These are assessments that measure the candidate's traits ...

  23. 7 Power Skills That Are in Demand in 2024 and How You Can ...

    The more employees who can make decisions on their own in a timely manner, the more efficient and competitive your company can be. 5. Problem-solving and critical thinking. Being a good problem solver usually means knowing how to identify a problem and going through a series of steps to develop a solution.

  24. Decision-making in Business and How a Business Administration Degree

    Finalize budgeting decisions around what strategies, products, and resources to invest in; Address a crisis situation or image conflict as soon as possible; Making Decisions and Solving Business Problems: the Breakdown. These are skills that the majority of employers consider to be must-haves. To run smoothly, an office must have employees that ...

  25. How Co-Leaders Succeed

    Co-leadership, where an executive, department, or team leadership role is shared, can result in more creative and strategic problem solving and wiser decision making. But it can also lead to ...

  26. Are You Being Emotionally Manipulated at Work?

    It can systematically influence cognitive control, which is crucial for effective decision-making and problem-solving, and can also affect individuals' interpersonal relationships and overall ...

  27. How to Solve Problems as an Executive Manager

    Learn the most important skills you need to solve problems effectively and efficiently as an executive manager. Improve your analytical, creative, communication, decision-making, leadership, and ...

  28. ‎How to Think Differently: 7 Easy Steps to Master Mental Models

    How to Think Differently: 7 Easy Steps to Master Mental Models, Critical Thinking, Decision Making & Problem Solving. Troye Bates. $1.99; Listen $1.99; Listen Publisher Description. Do you wish you could think differently and develop better problem-solving skills for those crucial moments when you need it most?