“Let your conscience be your guide.”

“Listen to your gut.”

“Think before you act.”

“Just do it!”

When it comes to making decisions, these are some of the tidbits of advice you may have heard.

If you are a thinker, you couldn’t imagine making a decision without conscious and thoughtful consideration.

If you are a doer, you cringe at anything or anyone who slows down your action process and even remotely suggests that you “consider” all angles first.

The fact is, when determining what approach works best for decision making, it is similar to the idea of “One Size Does NOT Fit All Training”…one method does NOT fit all.

• If you are D-wired, you will take the risk of making fast decisions and taking immediate action.
• If you are I-wired, you will likely know intuitively what should be done. Ignoring that instinct – or overthinking it – usually ends up in your taking a wrong action…or no action at all.
• If you are S-wired, you have a very connected consciousness that allows you to sense what decision needs to be made. Ignoring it or dismissing it results in halted progress.
• If you are C-wired, you cannot (and should not) make a decision without consciously thinking through the pros and cons, and weighing your options. When you do make a decision, it will well considered and solid.

Now this doesn’t mean any method of decision making is foolproof. But our innate methodology is usually the one that serves us best.

As the leader of an organization, you have an advantage when it comes to decision making.

You have all four decision-making perspectives at your fingertips. Tapping into this four-fold methodology will help ensure the decisions you make as an organization are proven from all these angles.

Where many leaders miss the boat is this…

They want every decision to be made from the same methodology. And they don’t want anyone to rock the boat.

A wise leader will not look for “yes” men and women. A wise leader will look for those who know how to make decisions from their point of strength.

Let’s say for example, your company is weighing a decision on whether or not to change your branding.

• A D-wired team member will be ready to take immediate action. After a quick assessment of high-level information, they are ready to move forward right away.
• An I-wired team member will quickly connect the dots – from what the company wants to do to what the customers will want. Their decision intuition will say, “I see what you want to do,” AND “I see it is what the customer wants. Let’s do it!”
• An S-wired team member will say, “This feels right. I’ll lay out a plan.”
• A C-wired team member will say, “I have given this some thought. The numbers support the concept.”

Now assume the branding is a major digression from previous norms, as a sizeable company recently announced. The decision process may look more like this:

• D-wired team member: “This is a great idea. We have to get ahead of the competition – we are implementing it now.”
• I-wired team member: “I like the look of the new branding; but I sense the customers will not like the change in focus.”
• S-wired team member: “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
• C-wired team member: “This makes no sense at all! This will create branding confusion, and I can show you where it will have a major impact on the bottom line. Not only will we lose identity; we will also lose customers…not to mention the cost of new signage and branded materials across the whole company.”

If you were a leader and someone on your team voiced any of these concerns…what would YOU do?

If you are wise, you will listen to your team. If a decision is right, it will pass all four decision gates – it will make sense from a high level, it will be make sense intuitively, it will “feel” right, and it will be proven and supported by analysis of the details.

Do you have a major decision to make? Tap into the power of your team’s decision-making strengths.

To learn more, click here to learn about the Maxwell Method of Sales LEADERSHIP Impact Assessment.

As the CEO of Strength Leader Development, Deb Ingino is a highly sought-after international executive mentor, coach, trainer and speaker. Deb is well versed in global business operations and helps business leaders and their teams to discover and leverage their strengths, so they can create highly collaborative teams that deliver great results. With a refreshingly direct style, Deb helps leaders and their teams to deliver profitable results. Connect with Deb to learn more about her mentorship and coaching programs to equip you with advanced strategies to elevate your results.

When you have a strong team that collaborates well,
you have a competitive advantage.

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