Clarity in Decision-Making

To make good decisions, you must learn how to reach the “clarity state,” which is characterized by both mental and physical focus.

Drawing from neuroscience and sports psychology, this state can be reached. There are four key qualities of leadership that lead to clear decision-making:

1. Authenticity. Authentic decisions are not based on consequences, but instead spring from three things managers can control: the quality of the process, the quality of the data and the level of internal alignment.
2. Responsibility. Managers often hide behind the need for consensus, but good decisions can arise only from debate and the willingness to accept the responsibility for a decision.
3. Vision. A manager must have vision — the product of intuition and imagination — in order to know what questions to ask and which deductions to trust.
4. Courage. A leader must have the courage to consider all options regardless of the perceived risk and, once a decision is made, courage is required to carry out that decision.

(Source: The Right Decision Every Time: How to Reach Perfect Clarity on Tough Decisions - Prentice Hall, 2005.)