Ron Price recently led an “Executive Decision Making” workshop for one of our clients. We spent a great two days with a very engaged group of managers and future leaders from a variety of departments. As we wrapped up the final day, Ron asked the participants “what went well?” Several people commented on how much they valued the segment on “Decision Making Accountability”.

As part of this segment, Ron asked the group to make a list of ten important decisions they had made in their personal life or their job or career. Then on a scale of 1 – 10, rate the quality of each of their decisions based on the outcomes.

• Which decisions were based on emotion?
• Which were based on instinct?
• Which were based on careful analysis?
• Which were based on well-developed logic?

We have all made decisions that resulted in both good outcomes and unsatisfactory outcomes. An important part of improving your decision making process is to reflect on what made each of your decisions “good” or “bad.”

One of the decision making tools Ron shared with the group was the STARR™ formula, a coaching tip developed by our associate Dr. Carol Gaffney. I thought this would make a great addition to our weekly e-zine.

STARR™

STOP and take a breath; allow yourself to switch from emotional flooding to thinking.

THINK about what you really want to happen.

ASSESS yourself, the situation and the people you are with. Ask yourself if this is the best time to deal with the problem, whether you are at your best or whether you know enough about the other person to communicate effectively.

RESPOND rather than react – choose your action from what you have decided is right for the situation rather than from the flood of feeling that often drives behavior.

REVIEW the outcomes of your actions. What worked, what did not work, what will you refine, change, eliminate, and add to the process?

Not all of your decisions will be perfect, but they will definitely be learning opportunities. Remember to practice!