As someone who is responsible for making decisions that are crucial to the success of a business, a lot is riding on your shoulders. While this is no easy undertaking, it’s possible to avoid overcomplicating your situation by adhering to a clear approach when it comes to the decision-making process. Having a solid formula will take a lot of guesswork out of the tough stuff while preventing you from overwhelming yourself in the process.
Have a Deep Understanding of Your Company
Before you make any decision, you need to be sure it adheres to the expectations of the business. Glazing over critical information can lead you to make decisions that you erroneously believe are the best, when in fact, the expectation was that you should have done something drastically different.
Outside of the facts in the books, opening up as many lines of conversation as possible will help you understand the basis of your company. Sometimes, a company will strive for certain goals, but their business mission changes according to the feedback they receive and the impact they have in the communities they serve. This information should carry equal weight.
While understanding your company, this article may also help you in the process
Incorporate Everyone’s Voice
You may think something is the best idea from the spot you’re standing in, but how does it look from other places? Employees that are lower on the food chain deal directly with issues that never cross your path. You need to be sure that your choices are positively impacting their work environment. They know their job better than you do, and their perspective can help you shape your choices. Regardless of who works in what position, everyone is part of a team. Listening to everyone else will broaden your perspective and put you on the right path.
Balance Goals with Their Results
If you can clearly see point A leading to point B, you may be correct in selecting your direction. The only perceivable issue is that many situations have a multitude of potential outcomes. How can you be sure that you’re headed straight for your desired result, and that things won’t take on a life of their own? You need to make sure all the surrounding factors are in line with what you’re trying to accomplish, for both short-term and long-term goals. If there are any other elements of the business you need to improve before you put your plan in place, make sure you tend to do things in the order of their importance.
Treat Everything as a Learning Experience
It’s important to remember that you won’t always succeed. While that may seem pessimistic, even the most brilliant prominent figures in business have their off days. Instead of dwelling or being unnecessarily hard on yourself, examine the situation. What would you do differently next time? Is there anything positive you can take away from a less than successful decision? There’s nothing wrong with making the occasional mistake, as long as you don’t continue to make that mistake.
See Everything Through to the End
When things get busy, you may feel the need to delegate the management of your plan amongst other employees. Not everyone is going to interpret things the same way you do, and this can cause your plan to become derailed. Avoid taking on too much at once, and make sure you stick with the same project from beginning to end. Don’t loosen your grip until you’re certain your mission has been a successful one.
Allow Yourself to Relax
If your stress level is through the roof, you won’t be able to do anything. Sometimes this means you need to work on your confidence and learn to believe in yourself a little more, and sometimes this means you need to slow down and take things point-by-point. Being too eager can cause you to nosedive right into the ground, and you won’t have enough time to get yourself back together. Working at a manageable pace and dealing with things as they come can prevent you from experiencing burnout.
The things you do for your company are important, and keeping the right mindset makes you invaluable to your company. Stay focused, stay composed, and never run around like a chicken with your head cut off. The best leaders always carry themselves with admirable confidence, so keep your chin up.
About the author
Tess Pajaron is an experienced Community Manager who has been working at Open Colleges for over 3 years. In her free time, she loves to travel and find exotic and uncharted places all around the world.
