Judgment: The Foundation of Decision-making

Decision-making is rarely an easy task. It requires a great deal of time, talent, energy, and information. During the next few weeks, we will explore the characteristics of decision-making through the wisdom of prominent individuals – some familiar to you, while others may have lived before your time. Regardless, the sage advice they provide is well worth considering.

Even if the characteristics are plentiful and the connections are ample, the leader’s judgment is what most influences decision-making. Poor judgment generally creates poor decisions. Good judgment normally produces good decisions. I use the terms ‘generally’ and ‘normally’ because, even with the best-laid plans of mice and men, nothing happens 100 percent of the time.

Good judgment also requires adequate experience, and in strategic decision-making, some education is beneficial. An observation I made prior to retiring from the Army was that,

“Decisions I was allowed to make as a Captain were now reserved for Colonels.”

I thought, ‘Without those decision-making experiences at the junior officer level, why would my decisions as a Colonel be any better than those made by a Captain? ‘ I posed that question to the powers-that-be at the time with simply a shoulder shrug as a response.

How are you developing the judgment and, by default, the decision-making abilities of your junior leaders?

#judgment #decision-making #foundationalprinciples #leadership #leaderdevelopment

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Dr. Burl Randolph, Jr., DM, is an award-winning author and retired Army Colonel with nearly 32 years of service and three combat tours in Iraq. He is currently the President and Chief Consultant of MyWingman, LLC, a Business Leadership & Management Consulting company that “Helps Leaders Design Legacies That Last” since 2015.