How can we make better decisions? How do you make good decisions, or how do you approach decision-making in general?
\nWhy is it so important to make good decisions? <\/p>\n
As an athlete, for example, it is crucial to know which competitions to compete in and which are better to skip.
\nAs a leader, making good decisions is one of the most important tasks (at least, that is what I thought for a long time).
\nWhen you are going through a crisis, decision-making becomes even more critical. <\/p>\n
One good decision can lead you out of the darkness; a bad one can make it even darker.<\/p>\n
While participating in the Senior Sales Leadership Academy, I took on an extra task: I interviewed over 30 Senior Executives. I simply reached out and asked if they would share their leadership journeys with me. (You can find my template at the end\u2014feel free to use it!)
\nDuring these conversations, I asked various questions, including how they make decisions. Interestingly, many of the responses were quite similar, but two stood out. One Senior Executive told me, \u201cI don\u2019t make decisions.\u201d That surprised me and caught me totally off-guard.
\nHe explained that his team has such a unified vision that every team member knows the direction and can make decisions themselves. This impressed and influenced me because it highlighted the importance of having a clear vision. With a clear vision, there is little need for constant oversight. It makes total sense!
\nIn a different session with another Senior Executive, I learned that knowing your values is just as important\u2014if not more so. She made a powerful point: \u201cHave you ever experienced a person making decisions that are totally inconsistent? This is often because they are not aware of their values.\u201d
\nI have certainly had that experience, and I assume I\u2019m not alone.
\nA lack of clarity regarding values can lead to decisions that don\u2019t align with your company\u2019s goals or your own integrity. Therefore, it is essential to identify your core values. Knowing them helps streamline future decision-making and ensures consistency\u2014especially for leaders who need to be seen as decisive and reliable rather than inconsistent.
\nOne thing I constantly repeat is that the best leaders are those with the highest self-awareness. An advantage of being self-aware is that you understand your values and your vision.
\nWhat can we take away from this?
\nKnow your values and have a vision. But how can we establish them? In this week\u2019s article, we look at how to find your values. Next week, I will follow up and show you how to find your vision.<\/p>\n
How to Identify Your Values
\nIn Austria, you are only allowed to provide one-on-one coaching if you are a certified psychosocial coach. The education required to become one is rigorous, taking two to three years. A major part of the curriculum involves 100 hours of group and self-reflection sessions. In one of these sessions, I worked on my values with my coach. He showed me a simple but powerful exercise:
\nThe Setup:<\/p>\n
Write 32 different values, each on a single piece of paper (use the template provided here).<\/p>\n
Print them out.<\/p>\n
Turn each paper over so you cannot see the words.<\/p>\n
Pick up two papers.<\/p>\n
Decide which one you want to keep and discard the other.<\/p>\n
Continue this until you have gone through all the papers.<\/p>\n
Now, start again with the remaining 16.<\/p>\n
Repeat the procedure until you have only two values left.<\/p>\n
In my case, the final two were Authenticity and Inspiration. To make it a \u201ctop three,\u201d I was allowed to choose one additional value that is deeply important to me: Family. Once you are finished, you will have your three main values. These are your guiding stars.<\/p>\n
Now, take the time to write down what each of these three values means to you. Be as specific as possible. This definition doesn\u2019t need to make sense to the world\u2014it only needs to be clear to you.
\nOnce you have finished, you will have your core guiding stars. Whenever a difficult decision arises, you can use these values as a filter. By aligning your choices with your inner compass, you ensure consistency in your leadership. You will no longer be seen as someone who jumps from one direction to another, but as a leader who acts with integrity and purpose.
\nNext week, we will talk about how to create your vision.<\/p>\n
All the best,
\nBernhard<\/p>\n
The Template
\nDear [Name],
\nTo prepare myself for the next step in my career, I would like to learn as much as possible from great leaders. Would you be willing to spare 30\u201360 minutes in the coming weeks to chat with me?
\nI would love to discuss the following:<\/p>\n
How was your leadership journey?<\/p>\n
What have been your greatest challenges?<\/p>\n
How did you overcome those challenges?<\/p>\n
What are your secrets to success?<\/p>\n
How have you \u201cplanned\u201d your career?<\/p>\n
I look forward to your feedback.
\nBest regards,
\n[Your Name]<\/p>\n
P.S. I\u2019m currently on a multi-year journey to swim The Alpine Seven\u2014339 km across seven iconic lakes\u2014to raise awareness for people living with an illness and to prove that even impossible goals can be achieved with the right system in place. If you want to follow the journey and read my reflections during my time in the water\u2014which is a lot of time\u2014hit the button below.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to make 5% your 100%!<\/p>\n
P.P.S. I plan to send this out every Friday morning 5 am CET. But as this is a human-to-human connection, please bear with me if life (or my kids) decides to \u201creorganize\u201d my schedule. I\u2019m a pretty good swimmer, but I haven\u2019t figured out how to swim through a family emergency at a good speed yet! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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