In a coaching session with a young entrepreneur recently, he came to the conversation wanting support in thinking through a business decision, and as he was describing this, he stopped suddenly with the realization he really wanted a repeatable process for making good decisions.
We agreed that having a system would give him plenty of leverage every time it comes up—for most of us, that is fairly frequent. We looked first at decisions that turned out to be very favorable. Then we looked at some that had not worked out so well. From that, we created a list of questions and reminders to run through each time we felt the need to be especially thoughtful about a choice. Here is what we co-created:
- Am I giving myself ample time, or rushing the process from a sense of urgency?
- Does a “yes” decision match my core values?
- If I say “yes” how does it feel to my energy? When I imagine that do I feel more excitement, nervousness, anticipation, dread?
- If I say “no” how does it feel? Do I feel more a sense of regret or relief?
- What other options are available to me?
- Have I taken this decision into prayer? How well does it match my spiritual intentions?
- What strengths would be helping me in carrying out this decision?
- How does this decision impact the quality of my life, my close relationships and money?
- What does my head want, what does my heart want, and which feels stronger?
- How involved is my ego? In other words, am I justifying a decision because my ego is attached to it going that way?
- Have I run this idea past my trusted “board of advisors” (or coach) to get their take on it? Does that seem like an appropriate step?
Not every decision will need to be met with this much rigor. When we find ourselves in a position to make a big decision that will impact our business, our colleagues and relationships, it can be very helpful to have a proven system in place to help us navigate those choices. Some are choices only we can make. Often, hearing the perspective of someone we trust who is outside the situation can help us see differently, and clarify our next step. My client was elated to have a system in place before there are big, life-changing ramifications riding on the outcome.
To learn more about how we help leaders and teams be more innovative and operate more interdependently, visit our website at www.personalbestpartners.com
