The ability to make sound, responsible decisions are made possible through mastering the Social and Emotional Competencies that we have articulated here. Good decisions come when you have your emotions in check, use practical relationship skills, and are socially aware. You can do a few things that will make your decisions both good and as apolitical as possible.
These include:
Keep your eyes on the prize.
Know what it is you want to achieve for the organization and keep this as a touchstone in decision making.
You’ll become known for making sound decisions if you always weigh them against company achievements.
Making as many win-win decisions as possible.
Think to yourself how can both parties win from this decision. If both win it is likely that the organization wins as well
Win-win scenarios will reduce political conflicts, win-lose can exacerbate them!
Focus on the most important things.
Of all the things you are judging, one factor is the most important and must be given greater weight than anything else.
Don’t decide until you are ready.
Don’t act on impulse or succumb to decision panic.
Look for the positive results that can come from this decision.
Make your decision as if you were afraid of missing a wonderful opportunity.
Consider the negative outcomes.
If things go wrong, as they sometimes will, what’s the worst that can happen?
How can you mitigate problems?
Look ahead.
Try to see how your decision will play out over time.
Turn big decisions into a series of little decisions.
When a big undertaking seems like it could be too much to tackle all at once, take small steps, get more information, reconsider, and then make the next decision.
Don’t feel you are locked into only one or two alternatives.
There are always more options if you look for them. Go look for them.