The Art Of Decision Making For Career Success

Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi Ki Har Khawish Pe Dum Nikle,

Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin fir bhi kum nikle

The famous lyrics of Urdu Poet, Mirza Ghalib clearly articulates the baffling state of the human mind when they face too many choices and are unable to make the right decisions. Decision-making can be tough and when it is a question of one’s career, it becomes even tougher, because of choices involved, commitments to be made and the outcomes of those decisions can be redeemed only in the future. With technological advancement happening so rapidly, trends changing at the speed of thought, an abundance of choices, making a decision is far more complex than it was ever. So how does one decide, which career stream to choose, which job role or company to pick or which specialization to follow? According to the famous public speakers in India, good decision-making requires skills of knowledge, information, prediction and judgment, all of which can be perfected with experience over a period of time. Here are a few useful tips for people to improve their decision-making skills:

• Know Yourself

When, say, the motivational speakers in India go on the stage to speak, they often share a piece of themselves. They make sure to be aware of their own capabilities before they try to enhance others’. To make an informed career decision and prior to any exploration of the world of work, it is important to have a good understanding of your own personal attributes. Think about your interests (what are you good at, what kind of work environment you enjoy the most and so on), think about your skills (what are your strengths and weaknesses, what skills you would prefer to acquire), think about your values (what matters most in your career, will this career decision make you happy) and so on. Knowing your preferences and interests will play a very vital role in setting the right context of decision for you.

• Gather the right information

If you look for some motivation on the internet, you will probably gather information about leadership motivational speakers. Similarly, If you are planning to change your job, gather as much relevant information about the company you are planning to join, about the hiring manager, about the culture of the company and so on. Not everything is available on Google, hence, talk to people, and also put your questions on portals like Quora or Glassdoor. Further, don’t get influenced only by the information that is available online. Often decisions like job change need intelligence which can come from both online and offline resources. Get all the information, structure it in a hierarchy and assign weighted scores basis your relevance and preferences. This will bring subjectivity to help you make a rational decision.

• Identify Alternatives

Any decision can go wrong and therefore it is equally important that you identify alternatives in your decision-making process. What if the decision that you make today does not work? What are your alternatives? What gets compromised? What is at stake if the decision goes wrong and another decision has to be taken to get back on track. Identifying and planning for alternatives save us from shocks or disappointments, should a decision taken goes haywire.

• Don’t worry too much about outcomes

If you ask the best motivational persons in India, whether they thought about the future before jumping into motivational speaking, they will probably say no. Not thinking about the future and the outcome is what has made them the best. The first thing students ask when they join any course today is – what is the placement? What are the average salaries and so on? Yes, placement is important, but understand that your college is not a placement factory. You have joined a college to enhance your skills, improve your expertise and gain knowledge. Worrying too much about a job, depression in the job market, lack of suitable job opportunities will not solve your problem. Stay the course, work hard and be innovative in exploring opportunities. You never know what will come your way.

• Evaluate Options & Take Decision:

Once you have identified your interests, gathered the right information, identified alternatives and evaluated possible outcomes, it’s now time to evaluate the final options or possibilities you have and then just take a decision. Remember that you may not have all the answers you need to make a decision and also too much information leads to paralysis of analysis. Sometimes, we have to use a mix of knowledge, information, intuition, and fear of the unknown to make the most important decisions in life. If all the decisions you take are right, you develop expertise. If some of your decisions go wrong, you gain from experience. Go for it.

Commonly Used Decision-Making Styles:

• Planning: You use rational thoughts to weigh facts of the situation and obtain necessary information and explore possible consequences of your decision.

• Impulsive: You don’t think or plan your decisions. You just take them without giving any detailed thought to the decision under consideration.

• Intuitive: You believe a lot in your gut instincts and strive to preserve harmony.

• Delaying: Avoid taking action. In this approach, decision-makers procrastinate about the situation and hope that something will happen on its own.

• Fatalistic: The belief that the decision is up to fate and things will happen the way they are supposed to.