Strategies for Improving Individual Decision Making Skills

Steve Jobs (and Elizabeth Holmes) wore a black turtleneck. Zuckerberg only wore grey shirts. Obama stuck to blue or grey suits while president. Why did these 3 people at the top of their game decide to wear a uniform? To make better decisions. Let’s discuss: The average person makes 35,000 decisions per day. Yet a select few decisions drive the majority of the outcomes. Zuckerberg said he wanted to “make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community (Facebook).” They all believed that brain power used on inconsequential things increased their decision fatigue and left less for the most important decisions. So, instead, they offloaded them with default choices. First, how do we know what decisions to prioritize? For me, they have to have a material cost of: 1. Time or time horizon (greater than 1 year) 2. Profits (greater than 10% change) 3. People (time, stress, etc) 4. Leverage (monetary & personally) I think of leverage in two ways. 1. Opportunities that expand your range of outcomes (new job that opens door to much larger book of business). 2. Opportunities that shrink your range of outcomes (closing in on debt limit). The "uniform" is only one strategy, and honestly a bit of a goofy one. So what other ways can we improve our decision-making? Here are 7 strategies for making better decisions: 1) Make big decisions early in your day As you get further and further into the day, the number of decisions we’ve made starts to deplete our energy. 2) Time block A day that’s not organized is a day that “disappears.” Time naturally goes to the route with the least resistance. Time blocking your most important tasks ensures they don’t get squeezed out. 3) Eisenhower Decision Matrix The Eisenhower Matrix has you label decisions by two categories: important and urgent. The 2x2 matrix creates four quadrants that allow you to see (and prioritize) the most important and urgent tasks. 4) Delegate authority Don’t just delegate tasks, but delegate “authority” too. Quit doing level 1-3 delegation when you should be doing levels 4-5 delegation: 1—Do as I say 2—Research and report 3—Research and recommend 4—Decide and inform 5—Act independently 5) Automate your decisions Follow the likes of Steve Jobs, Zuckerberg, and Obama and automate what doesn’t matter. These small decisions add up, so by removing the choice, you can allocate more time to what’s important. 6) Prioritize rest & sleep Lack of sleep leads to a similar impairment level as drinking to the legal limit. Prioritize: ▸ 6-8 hours of sleep per night ▸ a consistent bed & waketime 7) Eliminate the unessential That individual request seems innocuous. But all those little things add up. -see Eisenhower Matrix below Our goal with each solution is to reduce the number of inconsequential decisions we’re making so we can put more focus and energy into the major decisions. Reflect: am I making this decision in a depleted state or a full state?

Most people think career success comes from making the perfect decision. It doesn’t. It comes from making timely, values-aligned ones. Especially when the next step feels unclear. One of my clients, a brilliant VP, spent 3 months stuck on a single choice: “Do I speak up about being overlooked, or wait for my work to speak for itself?” She called it strategic patience. But it was really fear disguised as overthinking. We ran it through this framework. She made the call. Six weeks later, her promotion was fast-tracked. She was finally seen, heard, and most importantly, included. Because here’s what I tell every high-achiever I coach: You don’t need more time to decide. You need a better way to decide. Try the 2-Minute Decision Framework™ (Career Edition): 1. QUICK DECISIONS → Handle it NOW For low-stakes tasks that clog your mental bandwidth: → Can you respond to that email in < 2 minutes? → Is the request low risk and easily reversible? → Are you spiraling on something that just needs action? ✅ Do it. Momentum builds trust and confidence. (Your career doesn’t stall in the big moves, it drips away through tiny indecisions.) 2. TEAM DECISIONS → Resolve it TODAY For collaborative work or project bottlenecks: → Who’s recommending this approach? → Who’s doing the work? → Who’s accountable for the final call? ✍️ Assign roles. Align expectations. Move forward. (Most team confusion comes from no one knowing who’s driving.) Use this anytime you’re: – Leading a cross-functional project – Navigating performance reviews – Building team trust through shared clarity 3. CAREER DECISIONS → Make it THIS WEEK For decisions that affect your growth, visibility, and voice: Use the 3–2–1 Method: → 3 options: Brainstorm career paths, scripts, or solutions → 2 perspectives: Ask two mentors, not the whole internet → 1 call: Choose the path aligned with your long game 🎯 Clarity > complexity. Every time. This works for: – Deciding whether to advocate for a raise or promotion – Considering a lateral move for growth – Navigating visibility or speaking up on tough issues The truth is: courageous careers aren’t built on perfect plans. They’re built on small, aligned decisions made with intention. That’s C.H.O.I.C.E.® in action. So here’s your coaching moment: 🔥 Pick one decision you’ve been avoiding. Run it through the framework. Make the call within the next hour. Then ask yourself: What changed when I finally decided? ❓ What’s one career decision you’ve been sitting on too long? Share it below, or DM me, and we’ll run it through together. 🔖 Save this for your next “Should I…?” moment 👥 Tag someone who needs this framework in their toolkit Because alignment isn’t found in overthinking. It’s built through C.H.O.I.C.E.®. ➕ Follow Loren Rosario - Maldonado, PCC for tools that actually work in real life. #CareerCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment

The gap between good decisions and great ones often comes down to the questions we ask ourselves. 31% reduced confirmation bias. 39% improved argument quality. 43% greater hypothesis flexibility. These aren't just statistics. They're evidence of how the right questions can completely reshape your thinking. We're not in an era where critical thinking is optional. We're in a time where it's the difference between leading and following. The most powerful questions aren't complicated. They're precisely targeted to counteract our cognitive blind spots. Here are five backed by research: 🔹 "What would make me wrong about this?" Counteracts confirmation bias by forcing you to seek disconfirming evidence. Journal of Business Research shows this simple question improved decision accuracy by 26%. 🔹 "What's the strongest case against my position?" Develops intellectual empathy by steelmanning opposing views. Stanford University studies found this practice increased persuasiveness by 27%. 🔹 "What information would change my conclusion entirely?" Prevents overconfidence in limited evidence. Princeton University research shows this question improved the incorporation of new evidence by 51%. 🔹 "Whose perspective am I not considering?" Reveals blind spots and prevents echo chamber thinking. MIT Sloan School of Management research found this improved solution quality by 28%. 🔹 "How would I think about this if it weren't my idea?" Creates psychological distance from your own ideas. Organizational Research showed this reduced unhelpful attachment by 47%. The world doesn't just need more information processors. It requires more nuanced thinkers who can navigate complexity with clarity and objectivity. That's the mindset we're helping build - for leaders who want to make decisions they won't regret tomorrow. Coaching can help; let's chat.  Follow Joshua Miller 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? 🚀 Download Your Free E-Book:  “𝟮𝟬 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀” ↳ https://rb.gy/37y9vi #executivecoaching #criticalthinking #careeradvice

Bad decisions aren't usually about intelligence or experience⁣. ⁣ They're about making choices without a clear process⁣. ⁣ The best leaders don't have perfect judgment. ⁣ They have reliable systems that guide them toward better choices consistently⁣. ⁣ Here are 8 frameworks that turn decision-making from guesswork into strategy:⁣ ⁣ 1: The Reverse Advocate Protocol⁣ ↳ Assign someone to argue against your choice before finalizing any major decision.⁣ ↳ Challenging your own bias reveals blind spots and strengthens your final choice.⁣ ⁣ 2: The Energy Drain Audit⁣ ↳ Evaluate how much mental and emotional energy each option will require ongoing.⁣ ↳ High maintenance decisions often fail because they exhaust you before creating results.⁣ ⁣ 3: The Up/Down Impact Chain⁣ ↳ Trace how your decision will influence decisions that come before and after it.⁣ ↳ Single decisions create cascading effects that multiply their importance beyond immediate outcomes.⁣ ⁣ 4: The Constraint Liberation Test⁣ ↳ What would become possible if this decision removes your biggest current obstacle.⁣ ↳ The best decisions don't just solve problems they unlock entirely new opportunities.⁣ ⁣ 5: The Identity Alignment Filter⁣ ↳ Consider which option moves you closer to who you want to become as a leader.⁣ ↳ Decisions shape identity over time, and identity shapes all future decisions.⁣ ⁣ 6: The Network Effect Multiplier⁣ ↳ Evaluate how each choice affects your access to people, information, and opportunities.⁣ ↳ Great decisions don't just create direct value, they position you for better future decisions.⁣ ⁣ 7: The Teaching Test Framework⁣ ↳ Ask which decision you'd be most comfortable explaining and defending to your team.⁣ ↳ Choices you can't teach or justify usually indicate unclear thinking or misaligned values.⁣ ⁣ 8: The Pattern Break Analysis⁣ ↳ Identify whether this decision continues existing patterns or creates new ones.⁣ ↳ Sometimes the best choice is the one that breaks you out of cycles that aren't serving you.⁣ ⁣ What's one framework you use?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 💚 Follow Hetali Mehta, MPH for more.⁣⁣⁣⁣ 📌 Share this with your network.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ 👇Subscribe to my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eFPeE4gQ