Sunday, August 30, 2015

A520.3.1.RB- Decision Making Styles

If you want detailed responses delivered at a snail’s pace with moments of impulsivity then look no further. My decision making style is where cautious and creative collide. I brainstormed some words to further elaborate my point. I also polled the audience for opinions. Mind you some words make no sense without context. Also, might I point out… yes, I am just delaying for effect at this point. So, without further ado: cautious, intentional, marinate, deliberate, curious, fear, slow, detailed, hesitant, and studied. I have found that I may be better suited for reflective, Eastern style thinking than what is required in an ever-moving, rapid Western world. So what would the opposite of these adjectives be? Perhaps some antonyms would be confident, time-saving, impulsive, spontaneous, natural, flow or Tao, relaxed, unplanned, or expedient.

All of this comes from a lady (that’s me!) who has dyed her hair a whole head of purple and called herself a “violet” but if my hair stylist wants to cut my hair that is a hard no. I also spent over three years selecting paint colors for my house. In fact, recently my household purchased a weathered wood media console and when step five got a bit hairy and there was no way to advance past it my immediate thought was exactly this: I should nap on this and come back later. Hey, when it doubt you need to reset!

My main concern with not being able to research every aspect and gathering as much information as possible is that I do not want to do anything that is not done well. Hasty is a word I cannot stand. I have high concern for not being sloppy or doing something with poor construction. Quality is a paramount word for me. I simply want to do things the right way or not do them at all. However, I am more flexible when change is more possible. This is why I mentioned my hair color choices. It turns out that is a super easy and relatively inexpensive thing to change even with a professional doing it. Cutting my hair takes so much longer to grow back should I regret the choice.  The more permanence or impact a decision has the more likely I am to clam up and freeze. So let’s say that I have a decision commitment issue.

Funny enough I am a decent problem solver. One of my points of pride is that others still call me creative in my adulthood. So what about my one hundred year decision processes? There are a lot of merit to being lightening on your feet and the same for making careful decisions. The truth is I need to get better at marrying the quality aspect with efficiency. No one can afford to stand still unless you are ready to risk getting run over. If any evidence is needed one should go walk the streets of NYC and see what happens. Whetten & Cameron (2011) point out that this should not detract from the importance of analytical problem solving. In a technical context error rates, response times, and missed deadlines were reduced (Whetten & Cameron, 2011).

It is no secret I try to work Taylor Swift into my writing and she is apt to pop up in the least likely of my ideas. Her second album was named “Fearless” and that is what I need to be to improve my decision making. I have good judgment, creative ideas, analytical insight and forethought so now I need to believe I am ready to do the things I decide with quality and also efficiency. How is waiting a day, a week, or a month going to make me more ready? After all don’t we learn from experience and with creative problem solving can’t things be remedied? With great hope, much practice, and proving myself through my actions by next year maybe my words for my decision style will be: fearless, quality, efficient, brave, spontaneous, confident, and relaxed… and no one will ever say hasty (big smiles)!!!

Reference:

Whetten, D. & Cameron, K. (2011). Developing management skills (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

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