Article from Harvard Business Review by Joseph L. Badaracco
Some pointers that I've got are:
Judgment is hard to define. It is a fusion of your
thinking, feelings, experience, imagination, and character. But five practical
questions can improve your odds of making sound judgments, even when the data
is incomplete or unclear, opinions are divided, and the answers are far from
obvious. One needs to systematically work through the five questions:
What are the net, net consequences of all my options?
What are my core obligations?
What will work in the world as it is?
Who are we?
What can I live with?
What are my core obligations?
What will work in the world as it is?
Who are we?
What can I live with?
Net, Net Consequences
·
The first question asks you to thoroughly and analytically
consider every course of action available to you, along with the full,
real-world, human consequences of each. Gray-area problems are rarely resolved
in a flash of intuitive brilliance from one person. So your job is to put aside
your initial assumption about what you should do, gather a group of
trusted advisers and experts, and ask yourself and them, “What could we
do? And who will be hurt or helped, short-term and long-term, by each option?”
·
Don’t confuse this with cost-benefit analysis, or focus solely
on what you can count or price. Gray-area problems require you to think more
broadly, deeply, concretely, imaginatively, and objectively about the full
impact of your choices.
·
In today’s complex, fluid, interdependent world, none of us can
predict the future with total accuracy. And it’s sometimes hard to think
clearly about gray-area issues. What’s important is taking the time to open
your mind, assemble the right team, and analyze your options through a humanist
lens. You might sketch out a rough decision tree, listing all potential moves
and all probable outcomes, or designate certain people to act as devil’s
advocates to find holes in your thinking and prevent you from rushing to
conclusions or succumbing to groupthink.
Core Obligations
·
This question gets at something deeper: the duties we have to
safeguard and respect the lives, rights, and dignity of our fellow men and
women.
·
How can you figure out specifically what these duties oblige you
to do in a particular situation? By relying on what philosophers call your
“moral imagination.” That involves stepping out of your comfort zone,
recognizing your biases and blind spots, and putting yourself in the shoes of
all key stakeholders, especially the most vulnerable ones. How would you feel
in their place? What would you be most concerned about or afraid of? How would
you want to be treated? What would you see as fair? What rights would you
believe you had? What would you consider to be hateful? You might speak directly
to the people who will be affected by your decision, or ask a member of your
team to role-play the outsider or victim as persuasively as he or she can.
The World as It Is
·
The third question pushes you to look at your problem in a
clear-eyed, pragmatic way—seeing the world not as you would like it to be but
as it is. Ultimately you need a plan that will work—one that will move an
individual, a team, a department, or an entire organization through a gray area
responsibly and successfully.
·
The phrase “the world as it is” points toward Niccolò
Machiavelli’s thinking - unpredictable, difficult, and shaped by self-interest.
Sound plans can turn out badly, and bad plans sometimes work. Much of what
happens is simply beyond our control. Leaders rarely have unlimited freedom and
resources, so they must often make painful choices. And a great many
individuals and groups will pursue their own agendas, skillfully or clumsily,
if not persuaded to do otherwise.
·
That is why, after considering consequences and duties, you need
to think about practicalities: Of the possible solutions to your problem, which
is most likely to work? Which is most resilient? And how resilient and flexible
are you? To answer those questions, you need to map the force field of power
around you: who wants what and how hard and successfully each person can fight
for his aims. You must also ready yourself to be agile and even
opportunistic—maneuvering around any roadblocks or surprises—and, when the
situation calls for it, to play hardball, asserting your authority and
reminding others who is the boss.
·
It’s easy to misinterpret the third question as an “out”—an
excuse to do what’s safe and expedient instead of the right thing. But the
question is really about what will work if you bring persistence, dedication,
creativity, prudent risk-taking, and political savvy to the task.
Who Are We?
·
This question asks you to step back and think about your
decision in terms of relationships, values, and norms. What really matters to
your team, company, community, culture? How can you act in a way that reflects
and expresses those belief systems? If they conflict, which should take
precedence?
·
This question comes fourth because you shouldn’t start with it.
Unlike the first three, which require you to take an outsider’s perspective on
your situation and consider it as objectively as possible, this one addresses
you as an insider, at risk for adopting an insular, limited view when you
consider norms and values, because we are naturally inclined to take care of
our own. So counterbalance that tendency with the thinking prompted by the
previous questions.
Living with Your Decision
·
Good judgment relies on two things: One is the best possible
understanding and analysis of the situation. The other involves the values,
ideals, vulnerabilities, and experiences of whoever will be making the
decision.
·
Ultimately you must choose, commit to, act on, and live with the
consequences of your choice. So it must also reflect what you really care about
as a manager and a human being. After considering outcomes, duties,
practicalities, and values, you must decide what matters most and what matters
less. This has always been the challenge of taking on any serious
responsibilities at work and in life.
·
How will you figure out what you can live with? End your
conversations with others, close the door, mute the electronics, and stop to
reflect. Imagine yourself explaining your decision to a close friend or a
mentor—someone you trust and respect deeply. Would you feel comfortable? How
would that person react? It may also be helpful to write down your decision and
your reasons for it: Writing forces clearer thinking and serves as a form of
personal commitment.
Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big
