Going
with Your Gut: How to Make Tough Calls
Takeaways
“You
cannot make a decision based on a poll. You’re not a politician, you’re a
business person.”
Jack Welch
Going with Your Gut: How to Make
Tough Calls
What it Means
These
days, it’s easy to get lost in information-overload and get stuck in
decision-paralysis. Going with your gut is the ability to use your past
experience and professional judgment to make tough calls based on pattern
recognition. It’s not an excuse to be reckless. If you don’t have the relevant
experience to make a tough call, it’s just a wing and a prayer. Leaders must
often make decision without perfect information. Learning how and when to use
your instinct is often necessary to move the organization forward based on
informed judgment.
Why it Matters
·
Even
though making tough calls is not easy, it often improves business results and
helps you achieve your vision because it:
a.
Improves
speed of execution
b.
Saves
time and money
c.
Builds
trust and respect
d.
Makes
for a more challenging and exciting work environment
·
Going
with your gut is the only option in many cases where uncertainty is high or you
have a lack of data.
·
Since
our natural tendency is to avoid these calls (or delay them until we have every
bit of possible data—which, of course, we never have) we need a framework to
help look for patterns and have the courage to move forward.
·
Because
a leader who can make the tough calls is an inspiration to the team by
displaying the energy and passion to get things done.
·
Facing
hard decisions head on keeps them from festering. Going with your gut can help
resolve problems quickly, before they grow into bigger problems.
Action Plan
Going with Your Gut: How to Make
Tough Calls
In the
action plan for this module, you will begin by reflecting on your past
experiences of making (or not making) tough calls and assessing how well you
handled those situations. You will identify quick-win opportunities for
applying what you have learned in your daily work. Finally, you will develop a
comprehensive plan that you and your team can use to make tough calls on an
on-going basis.
Your Starting Point
1.
How
many tough calls have you made in the last 6 months? Were you able to take
decisive action even if you had limited information?
2.
What
do you find most difficult about making tough calls, e.g., being perceived as
unfair or unpopular? How can you overcome this uneasiness?
3.
What
are the toughest decisions to make for you personally, e.g., letting go of an
underperformer, giving candid feedback to a direct report who is also a friend?
4.
Who
in your organization is good at making tough calls? Why? Have you talked to him
or her about how they do it?
5.
Do
you encourage people on your team to make tough calls? Do you support your team
members when they make them?
6.
If
you were asked to identify your single biggest challenge in making a tough
call, what would you say?
Quick Wins
Get
started making a tough call right away. Identify one festering problem, no
matter how small, and make a gut call to help drive to resolution of the
problem. Picking even a small issue and making a gut call will help send a
signal to your team and peers that you are willing to address issues head on,
and will help build your confidence for making bigger decisions in the future.
Think
about the action step in three stages:
1. Identifying
the issue
a.
Talk
to your direct reports to identify an issue.
b.
Conduct
a quick survey of your team (and/or peers) to identify a decision that is
overdue and requires action.
c.
Review
existing information. Acknowledge that you may not have every bit of data you
would like to have, but recognize that you have enough to make the call.
2. Making
the call
a.
Set
a deadline of 48 hours for making the decision.
b.
Schedule
a meeting with all your stakeholders (you need to commit this to a timeline).
c.
Deliver
the decision confidently and clearly. Explain your rationale, but don’t go too
deep. You are the leader, this is your call. It’s made—move on.
3. Identifying
the Issue
a.
If
your decision requires ongoing action for yourself and others, set clear
expectations for next steps around:
I.
Timelines
II.
Ownership
III.
Deliverables
b. Don’t back
off. You made the call—stand by it.
Your “Tough Call Checklist”
Clearly
identify the exact issue that is at the core of the decision. It’s easy to be
distracted by all of the complexities that are part of the problem, but
regardless of how much is going on, the decision itself must be simple. “I need
to decide to do A, B, or, C.
Set a
deadline for gathering the data. If you don’t set a deadline, the indecision
can get prolonged indefinitely as you gather more and more information.
Reach out
to smart and gutsy people in your organization to get feedback on the decision,
and advice on how to make the tough call. It’s your call to make and in the end
you will make it, but seek guidance from those you respect.
Detach
yourself and your personal feelings from the decision. Focus on the facts that
you have and look for patterns that emerge. Don’t make the decision you want to
make because someone else would like that to be the outcome. Tough calls will
nearly always leave somebody disappointed.
Deliver
the decision with confidence and specificity. Never deliver a vague message
that withholds painful details or apologize for having made it. If you’re
uncomfortable speaking to a group, practice alone in front of a mirror.
Ask
everyone if they are 100% clear on the decision, what it means for the
organization, and the rationale for making it, ensuring that everyone impacted
by the decision is informed of the decision.
Assess the
results from your tough call and discuss the results with trusted peers and/or
colleagues.
List 2-3
things that went well in how you handled the situation, and 2-3 things that you
could have executed better. Don’t expect to get it perfect every time. In fact,
it’s not always about making the “right” call; it’s about making the “good”
call.
Game Pages
Going with Your Gut: How to Make
Tough Calls
Making
tough calls is not easy and there will often be fallout. After you make a gut
call, it is important to learn from what went well and what did not. This will
give you confidence and skills to make difficult decisions successfully in the
future.
Tough Calls Worksheet
Specific Decision to be Made:
Deadline for Decision:
Deadline for Information Gathering:
Trusted Advisor List and Meeting
Times to Discuss:
Pro-Con Summary:
Decision: