Some people aim to be both caring and cerebral when making decisions. They use both their heart and head when exploring the options and consequences. They are then more able to make considered decisions.
Different people follow this approach in different ways. Let’s explore how some people translate this into action.
They Aim To Be Caring
Some people focus on what they care about when making decisions. Different people, of course, care about different things when taking this approach.
Some care about people. Some care about following their philosophy. Some care about pursuing their personal agenda. Some care about finding positive solutions to challenges. Some care about taking care of the planet.
Let’s assume that a person cares about people. When making a decision they may focus on the caring part before being cerebral. Bearing this in mind, they may explore the following themes.
What is the decision I may need to make? What may be the potential human implications? How can I do my best to care for people when making this decision?
Imagine that a person has used their heart to explore some of these themes. They may then switch mode and move to the next stage.
They Aim To Be Cerebral
Good decision makers sometimes drain themselves of emotion before making a decision. They aim to become clear eyed, objective and do their due diligence.
This can be vital when focusing on a topic that they feel passionately about. One person described their approach in the following way.
“I sometimes need to be dispassionate when following my passion in order to make good decisions.”
A person who has good heart may sometimes need to use their head. This is an approach followed by people who manage crises or make decisions that can have profound consequences.
Such people aim to helicopter above a situation, gather information and see the big picture. They then aim:
To clarify what is actually happening – or what has happened – and the possible ways forward in the situation;
To clarify what they can control, act to tackle any immediate issues and do what they can to stabilise the situation;
To clarify the real results to achieve – the short, medium and long-term results – and how to achieve these results in the situation.
Imagine that a person has used their head to clarify what is happening and begun to focus on the real results to achieve. They may then move on to the next stage.
They Aim To Make
Considered Decisions
Good decision makers clarify the situation and the possible ways forwards. When appropriate, they may also buy time to make considered decisions.
Daniel Forrester explains this approach in his book Consider: Harnessing the power of reflective thinking in your organization. Here is some background from Daniel’s website.
Consider
This original work distilled the lessons in leadership and habits of reflective thinking that made the difference within the recent financial crisis, war in Iraq and in recovering from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“STOP, THINK, AND DON’T DO SOMETHING STUPID!”
This is the warning Dr. Robert Bea drills into his Civil and Environmental Engineering students at the University of California in Berkeley.
Bea wants to dramatize what he terms the inevitable “oh shit” moments that present themselves-before an actual engineering calamity like the Deepwater Horizon/BP disaster happens.
Reflection supplies an arsenal of ideas and solutions to the right problems.
Forrester shows us that taking time and giving ourselves the mental space for reflection can mean the difference between total success and total failure.
Imagine that a person aims to be both caring and cerebral when making considered decisions. Bearing in mind that they want to do their best for people, they then take the following steps. They aim:
To clarify the real results they want to achieve – in order of priority – and translate these into a clear picture of success;
To clarify the possible options going forward – together with the pluses and minuses – and the attractiveness of each option;
To clarify the option they want to pursue, translate this into a clear action plan and then do their best to achieve the picture of success.
Different people follow this approach in different ways. Some use the following framework. They clarify the picture of success, the possible ways forwards and the steps they can take to get positive results.
There are many ways to make decisions. Some people aim to be both caring and cerebral when taking this step. They do their best to make considered decisions.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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