The Skills of a Good Leader

Week 2
The Important Skills of a Good Leader
The Important Skills of a Good Leader
Decision Making Concepts
Lesson Title

 Elucidate the different skills a leader should possess through

different theories and theoretical perspectives.
 Analyze the skills for an effective leadership through models
Learning Outcome(s)
that describe how models are perceived.
 Perceive the leader role’s in decision-making and how it all
started.
3:00-5:00 PM/MTWTHF
Time Frame

At SJPIICD, I Matter!
LEARNING INTENT!
Terms to Ponder
This section provides meaning and definition of the terminologies that are
significant for better understanding of the terms used throughout the
simplified course pack of Character Formation with Leadership, Decision-
Making, Management and Administration. As you go through the labyrinth of
learning, in case you will be confronted with difficulty of the terms refer to the
defined terms for you to have a clear picture of the learning concepts.

Skill  is a type of work or activity which requires special training and

knowledge.

Essential Content
“Leaders can develop and cultivate skills to increase their success, but how they
apply those skills will always be shaped by their inner values.”

In our earlier chapters we talked about the inner core, behaviors and
aspirations of good leader. As we have said before, who we are at the deepest
part of ourselves will shape our behaviors and aspirations. That is why we
continue to stress the importance of a strong inner core that will anchor the
aspirations, behaviors, skills and commitments of a good leader.

In this chapter, we will explore more deeply some of the specific skill areas
that can be developed and cultivated to increase a leader’s success. Clustering
around the principled and ethical core, these skills shape how the leader
communicates; how they coach, mentor and evaluate personnel; how they
build and lead teams; how they strategize and make decisions; and, how they
manage practical operational realities such as financial management and
organizational tasks.

It is worth considering once again that “doing” flows from “being.” How we
do things and how we apply our skills will always be shaped by our inner
values and what we hold to be important. For that reason, we continue to put
the strong inner core of the good leader in the center of the circle. The skills we
are going to discuss form the outer ring.

These skills cluster around three themes: communication skills,

interpersonal skills, and the skills needed for strategic management, decision-
making, and administration.

How Good Leaders Communicate?

It is important to look at the overarching principles and behavior associated
with effective leadership through communication before we explore specific
communication skill sets. It has been said that “knowledge is power.”

It is also true that withholding or misusing information can create climates

of distrust, and problems for the leader.
Transparency balanced with appropriate discretion and disclosure is a
starting point. Successful leaders provide clear, consistent and continual
communication among peers, employees, and stakeholders, whereas poor
communication hinders relationships and can cause leader derailment. We are
constantly communicating with each other through a variety of media; clear
communication should be a fundamental component of the organization’s
culture. This includes sharing organizational vision and values up front and
often and supporting a culture of open interaction. Communication is also
about receiving information, and the effective leader is a good listener.
This requires openness, patience, and a willingness to encourage healthy
debate, so that all views can be heard and explored. Respect, empathy, and a
supportive approach enhance listening; asking clarifying questions and using
good analytical skills will help the leader refine and use that information. It is
especially important to create mechanisms to hear directly from the public and
frontline service providers, as they often have direct experience and insights
that can increase effectiveness and create cost efficiencies. This conveys
accountability and a service focused attitude.

Effective leaders also recognize that not all conflict is negative; often
tension arising from differing perspectives can be leveraged to foster creative
solutions and collaboration. The effective leader hears the other person’s
concerns, positions or demands; they also can discern and explore the
underlying needs, interests and values driving those concerns, positions and
demands.
This enables them to build options that meet those underlying needs in
mutually beneficial ways. Fisher and Ury developed this collaborative problem-
solving approach in their seminal book Getting to Yes. Their approach to
collaborative negotiation is discussed more deeply in Chapter Three:
Aspirations.
We have discussed the behaviors that flow from our inner selves: behaving
ethically because we are guided by ethics, a moral framework, and a
commitment to social responsibility. This includes treating others with respect
and compassion because how we treat people matters.

Good leaders also communicate effectively and listen to others because they
value the contributions of those around them, and they strive to inspire others
to uphold and follow the vision and values of the organization of which they are
part.

These values-based behaviors provide an excellent foundation, and they are

supplemented by task and skill-focused behaviors that enable the leader to
ensure that goals are accomplished effectively and strategically.

Good leaders foster growing self-awareness and self-management to ensure

that there is consistency and integrity between their inner core values and the
way they function. This helps to ensure they are on a path of growth in how
they handle their strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and behaviors. Building on
a strong inner core and good communication, collaboration, and people skills,
we will now look at the specific communication skills that are essential
components of good leadership.

Skill #1: Verbal and Presentation Skills

The ability to communicate effectively in a variety of settings is an essential
skill for leaders. We have discussed already the importance of emotional
intelligence, and the ability to interact with others in a way that is relational,
supportive, and collaborative.
 Good leaders also make verbal presentations, write reports, prepare
proposals and engage in a host of other tasks in which they need to
communicate effectively. It is not only important to have the technical skills to
communicate well, but to do so in a way that is inspirational and persuasive,
so that others will engage with the leader’s ideas around how to achieve big-
picture organizational goals.
What takes a presentation from the mundane to that magical place where
people are moved to respond? Good leaders have cultivated a sense of rhetoric
—a mastery of language that touches people at cognitive and emotional levels—
creating a compelling effect. While some people have a natural inclination for
this, it is a skill that can be learned. Many leaders have, on their own time,
received training in effective, compelling public speaking.
Throughout history there have been powerful examples of individuals who
have mastered this art of persuasion so effectively that their legacy lives on,
long aft er their lives have ended. The great orators of the ages are part of this
group. What made their speaking so powerful? What can good leaders learn
from their example?

American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. is an excellent example
of an effective oral communicator. As a Baptist preacher he was well trained in
how to deliver an effective sermon: it needed clear points, effective
metaphors .and analogies, and eloquent, flowing language that had a
somewhat rhythmical, musical effect on the ears of those listening.

His 1963 speech “I have a dream” is an iconic example of his mastery of

rhetoric. Very few of us can imagine ourselves being as influential and
persuasive as Martin Luther King, but it is interesting to read or listen to his
speech and note his repetition of key phrases, his use of powerful metaphors
and word images, and the rising crescendo to his final emphasis on freedom,
repeated again and again. Repetition focuses the listener on the key ideas and
drives them home, and King used this technique with extraordinary mastery.
Jay Conger from McGill University noted that inspiring others is the
language of leadership. According to Conger, effective leaders have the ability to
skillfully craft the organization’s mission, and to communicate that mission in
ways that generate great intrinsic appeal. These leaders can detect
opportunities in their environment, and describe them in ways that maximize
their significance.
They can articulate an organization’s mission and communicate it in ways
that inspire. Inspiring leaders use stories and anecdotes that connect with the
imaginations of their listeners, engaging them and fostering their interest;
stories that convey the values and behaviors that are important to the
organization. They gear their language to their audience, and strategically use
everyday language to communicate in down-to-earth ways. They have mastered
their tone of voice and body language to create a confident, credible and
compelling presence.
 Former USA President Barak Obama and his wife Michelle both have this
confident, down-to-earth communication style that is compelling, but enables
them to be easily understood. Oprah Winfrey’s acceptance speech for the Cecil
B. De Mille Lifetime Achievement award at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards is an
excellent example of masterful public speaking: not only washer content
carefully knit together to create persuasive flow, but her delivery was dramatic,
compelling and skillfully paced to ensure maximum impact on the emotions of
the audience.

Skills and Techniques of Master Communicators

What are the skills and techniques we can learn from these and other
master communicators, if we want to improve our ability to make persuasive
oral presentations?
1. Frame the organization’s mission around intrinsically appealing
goals and draw upon values and beliefs that have positive, culturally-
important meaning for your organization. Draw appealing links to the
broader societal contributions of the organization and sincerely endorse and
incorporate these. The leader’s true beliefs in the organization’s purpose are a
cornerstone to becoming inspirational and are achieved only after significant
periods of exploration, reflection, and effort.
2. In describing the organization’s goals, incorporate the positive
values that are deeply held by the organization and society at large. Use
stories to illustrate these guiding values in action within the organization and
the marketplace.
3. Highlight key belief categories when framing your description of the
mission.
Specifically, highlight the significance of the mission, why it arose in the
first place, key antagonists, and assumptions about why it will succeed.
4. Employ more metaphors, analogies, and stories. Keep your message
simple and focused. Repeat it consistently.
5. Experiment with various rhetorical techniques. Seek out coaches; get
feedback.
6. Allow your emotions to surface as you speak. Are you excited about
the vision and mission of your organization? If so, show it! Are you deeply
concerned about competitive threats? Show it.
Be mindful that persuasive public speaking can have a dark side. Adolf
Hitler was a powerful communicator whose gift for persuasion brought about
war, misery and loss of life for millions.
History demonstrates that the persuasive oratory of a powerful leader can
be co-opted for manipulative and coercive purposes, and this can play out in
smaller ways in your organization just as it played out in larger ways in global
conflict. As ever, all our skills and aspirations need to be subordinated to our
inner character, our ethics, and the principles and values that keep us from
harming others or the world around us.

Skill #2: Written Communication

Excellent leaders have also mastered other forms of communication,
including the written word. Not every leader is gifted with a talent for writing!
Avail yourself of staff who can help you with editing, and who provide an extra
set of eyes to spot typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical problems. It goes
without saying that any document that will reach the public needs a robust
proofreading and editing process, and wise leaders adopt a similar approach to
any document of importance that will be landing on someone else’s desk. Your
standards for excellence should extend to how the written and spoken word are
delivered.
According to The Advisor, a resource for supervisors, managers and HR
personnel, good leader considers which form of communication will be most
effective. Although email has become the quickest and easiest way to connect
with others, wise leaders choose verbal communication for any message with
emotional content, or with the potential for creating confusion on the part of
the recipient.

The Advisor also suggests that announcements that will have a significant
impact on employees are best delivered in a meeting, and concerns about
performance issues and other sensitive information are best handled one-to-
one and privately.

Written communication, including email, is often helpful in providing

operational or technical instruction.

In summary, tailor your message to your audience, keeping in mind their

knowledge, expertise and experience. If your internal sense is causing you to
feel cautious before you click “send then ask a trusted colleague to look it over
before you send it on.

Tips on Communicating Effectively

Here are some more helpful tips from The Advisor on communicating
effectively:
1. Keep it simple. Use plain language to make your point, and use an
economy of words. People receive a lot of information every day, so less is more.
2. Choose your words carefully. If you are upset, take a timeout before
deciding how you will respond and which communication mechanism to use. If
 you will be speaking on a difficult subject, consider having talking points to
guide you.
3. Be aware of body language and tone of voice. People react more to these
than to the words you use.
4. Listen. Encourage the other person to do most of the talking. You will learn
more and it builds rapport. You can gain a lot from casual, indirect
conversations.
5. “Communicate, or else!” Withholding information creates an opportunity
for employees to make up their own version of what is going on, and it will
usually be incomplete or incorrect. Give as much information as is reasonable
and appropriate.
6. Do not make promises you cannot keep. It may undermine your team’s
faith in you, and they may see you as a liar. “I don’t know” or “I am unable to
discuss it at this time” are fair responses if you cannot answer a question.
7. Solve problems. When someone presents a concern, listen carefully, ask
questions, and discuss possible solutions. This sends the message that you are
someone they can turn to when problems arise.

SELF-SUPPORT: You can click the URL Search Indicator below to help you further understand the lessons.

Search Indicator

Chalmers, T. (2016, October 25). Worried that you might not be a natural
leader? Developing your leadership style with the Kouzes and Posner
leadership framework. Leading Figures.

Retrieved from www.leadingfigures.com/worried-that-you-might-not-be-a-

natural-born-leader/.

LEARNING INTENT!
Terms to Ponder
This section provides meaning and definition of the terminologies that are
significant for better understanding of the terms used throughout the
simplified course pack of Character Formation with Leadership, Decision-
Making, Management and Administration. As you go through the labyrinth of
learning, in case you will be confronted with difficulty of the terms refer to the
defined terms for you to have a clear picture of the learning concepts.
 Skill  is a type of work or activity which requires special training and
knowledge.

Essential Content
Skill #3: Active Listening and Conflict-management Skills
Good leaders are good listeners. If the leader has encouraged an
environment in which ideas can surface and innovation is encouraged, then it
goes without saying that differences (and sometimes serious differences) will
also emerge. This is normal and necessary if you want to foster an environment
in which creativity and good ideas can flourish. When these differences arise, a
good leader uses an open mind and a curious, non-judgmental approach. The
principles of active listening and collaborative problem-solving are helpful here:

 Stay open, stay curious and avoid judgmental language.

 Manage your emotions, your tone, and your body language.
 Ask open-ended questions to gather more information.
 Use neutral language to avoid triggering the other person. For example,
“what” and “how” questions tend to be easier to accept, whereas “why
questions can sound interrogative or judgmental. Shift “why” to “what” or
“how.” Ask, for example, “What led you to that decision?” rather than “Why
did you do that?”
 Explore their underlying needs, interests, beliefs, fears, hopes and
concerns. Remember that you are trying to “get underneath the iceberg,”
as we discussed in the Aspirations chapter.
 People share their positions, suggestions, and demands first—what is
motivating those is usually under the surface until people are given the
right setting to speak more openly.
 Work toward solutions that best meet the needs of all affected parties and
organizational goals.
 Help people save face and preserve their dignity even when differences are
on the table.
 Get coaching or take courses in conflict resolution and collaboration to
help you increase skills in this area.

Skill #4: Coaching and Mentoring Others

Coaching and mentoring can also be helpful strategies that build the
capacities of the worker, while also helping to reduce conflict. But, how are
coaching and mentoring different, and when should you use them?
While both coaching and mentoring are ways of encouraging and
supporting someone to achieve a goal, address a challenge, or develop or
acquire a skill, they diff er in how they are implemented.
 Good leaders will use their interpersonal and communication skills to
create a positive climate, reduce conflict and manage it when it occurs, and will
provide coaching or mentoring support (through their own efforts or through
accessing the assistance of others) to build capacity and promote a productive,
harmonious workplace.

Skill #5: Communication and Team Building

Communicating, preventing and managing conflict, and building effective
teams are interlocking skills for good leaders. Teams that really click” usually
have a leader who creates the environment and establishes the operating
principles and values that are conducive to high performance.

While some conflict is inevitable, a lot can be prevented by using the strategies of
effective leaders who are successful at leading teams:
1. Defining clear goals or a vision in accordance with the overall organizational
aims (the “big picture”)
2. Creating blueprints for action to achieve those goals

3. Using language to build trust, encourage forward thinking and create energy
within the team (“powerful conversations”)
4. Getting the right people involved (“passionate champions”)

It is interesting that teams are highly touted as an effective way to

accomplish creative work in today’s business world, but there are lots of
reasons why many teams fail. According to Coutu in the Harvard Business
Review, quite often people are not good at teamwork, and often they do not
even agree on what the team is supposed to be doing. That is why it is essential
that the leader provide not just the goals and vision, but clarity in other areas
as well:
• Clear boundaries of who is on the team and who is not;
• Clear and compelling direction, and clear norms of conduct with clearly
defined tasks;
• Manageable size, as small as you can get away with. Coutu suggests no
double digits, and often six is an ideal size;
• Assurance that the organization will be supportive: the reward system, the
HR system and the information system must facilitate teamwork; and
• Expert coaching: teams need coaching as a group in team processes, at
the beginning, midpoint and at the end of a team project. The coaching
provided by the leader focuses on team processes and performance.

Skill #6: Evaluating Performance and Providing Feedback

Leaders, managers and supervisors also have the challenging task of
providing performance reviews, which can include having to provide
constructive but negative feedback on an employee’s performance. Good
leaders know how to assess and give feedback on behaviors and competencies,
so this is an important skill to develop.

An annual performance review is a time to celebrate successes and to

reflect on and reinforce the staff member’s good work so that their good
performance will continue. From time to time, though, you may be in a
situation where you need to provide feedback in areas that need to change or
improve. In a formal review, it is important to balance the constructive
criticism with generosity about everything that is going well. It is wise to
remember that feedback should never be used as a weapon—instead, use it as
a gift.
 It is your job to support your team member’s growth and success, so
consider how you can bring your concerns in a way that is positive and future-
focused, giving them the clarity, they need regarding the changes they need to
make. Feedback should not just occur within the annual performance review.
Good leaders provide informal feedback along the way: noticing and affirming
the good, appreciating and encouraging the worker, and providing guidance
when changes need to be made. Whether you are providing positive feedback or
developmental feedback (when change is needed), it is important to use a
process that creates a positive, coaching experience for the person being
evaluated. In contrast poor leaders will often be silent when things are going
well, and reserve performance reviews only for times when they have criticisms
to raise.

Skills # 7 & 8: Strategic Thinking, Problem-solving and Decision-making

The next two spheres in our diagram of leadership skills relate to strategic
thinking, problem-solving and decision-making. Even though strategic thinking
has its own sphere, they are interconnected.

Leaders and managers are expected to make decisions and solve problems;
it is helpful to know when decision-making is considered “strategic” and when
it is not. “Individuals and teams enact strategic leadership when they think,
act, and influence in ways that promote the sustainable competitive advantage
of the organization.” The focus is on the enduring success and sustainability of
the organization, and its ability to thrive in the long-term.

How Does Strategic Leadership Differ from Leadership in General?

According to Hughes & Beatty, strategic leadership is exerted when the
decisions and actions of leaders have strategic implications for the
organization. It is broad in scope; the impact is felt over long periods. It often
involves significant organizational change. Broad scope requires seeing the
organization as an interdependent and interconnected system of multiple
parts, where decisions in one area provoke actions in other areas. The time
frame is far-reaching; the strategic leader keeps long-term goals in mind while
working to achieve short-term objectives.
In contrast, good operational leaders manage day-to-day functions
effectively and are skilled at working with people to ensure that short-term
objectives are met. This is necessary work, but does not involve the long-term
perspective that strategic leaders need to have.

Strategic leadership also results in significant change. Effective operational

leadership does not always involve organizational change, but strategic
leadership does.
Skill #9: Personal Organization
One of the ironies of being a big picture visionary is that it is sometimes a
challenge to be good with the details. For some reason, these attributes rarely
come in the same package, meaning the inspirational and visionary leader may
need help in keeping things organized. If you are fortunate enough to have an
effective administrative assistant, then ensure you have one who is “ticky-
checky” with the details, great at proofreading, and good at anticipating
deadlines and what you will need. There is an amazing synergy between
leaders and support staff when the chemistry and trust is right between them.
They need each other. Th e right support person will never be a charismatic
visionary leader and, often, would not enjoy it at all, but they get great joy from
facilitating the details and supporting the organization’s success.
Similarly, the dynamic, charismatic, visionary leader will really need a
support person they can count on. If you have this wonderful person already
working for you—count your lucky stars. Others will envy you!
If you are a leader who manages your own administrative work, then you
need to develop the skills of time management, effective filing and email
systems, and scheduling, good note-taking, and other aspects of personal
organization that will ensure you stay on top of all your responsibilities.
Fortunately, these are skills you can develop by learning what works for
others, and through professional development and online resources. Even
though it takes time to get good systems in place for yourself, you will feel the
reward of knowing you are becoming more effective and reliable, and that
others can count on you.

Skill #10: Finance and Resource Management

Ongoing sustainability is a continuing challenge for government
departments that need to constantly address budget cuts. This requires good
financial planning and management, with the leader helping the team
understand what can be spent, and what cannot.

For emerging leaders, it is important to learn the basics of reading

financial spreadsheets and understanding the revenue streams and reserves
available to you and how the programs are funded. Financial management for
government leaders also has a deeper, more important dimension that needs to
be kept in the center of the leader’s thinking.
It requires you to function as a prudent steward of the taxpayer’s money,
realizing your responsibility to manage the public purse ethically, responsibly,
and with the desire to see maximum positive results for the investment made.
Transparency, ethics, and an attitude of servant leadership are essential to
ensure that funds and resources are used wisely, carefully, and strategically.
SELF-SUPPORT: You can click the URL Search Indicator below to help you further understand the lessons.

Search Indicator

Chalmers, T. (2016, October 25). Worried that you might not be a natural
leader? Developing your leadership style with the Kouzes and Posner
leadership framework. Leading Figures.

Retrieved from www.leadingfigures.com/worried-that-you-might-not-be-a-

natural-born-leader/.
 At SJPIICD, I Matter!
LEARNING INTENT!
Terms to Ponder
This section provides meaning and definition of the terminologies that are
significant for better understanding of the terms used throughout the
simplified course pack of Character Formation with Leadership, Decision-
Making, Management and Administration. As you go through the labyrinth of
learning, in case you will be confronted with difficulty of the terms refer to the
defined terms for you to have a clear picture of the learning concepts.

Decision-making process is a reasoning process based on assumptions

of values, preferences and beliefs of the decision-maker.

Essential Content

In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive

process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several
possible alternative options, it could be either rational or irrational. Decision-
making process is a reasoning process based on assumptions
of values, preferences and beliefs of the decision-maker. Every decision-making
process produces a final choice, which may or may not prompt action.
Decision-making can be regarded as a problem-solving activity yielding a
solution deemed to be optimal, or at least satisfactory. It is therefore a process
which can be more or less rational or irrational and can be based
on explicit or tacit knowledge and beliefs. Tacit knowledge is often used to fill
the gaps in complex decision-making processes. Usually both of these types of
knowledge, tacit and explicit, are used together in the decision-making process.

Human performance has been the subject of active research from several
perspectives:
 Psychological: examining individual decisions in the context of a set of
needs, preferences and values the individual has or seeks.
 Cognitive: the decision-making process regarded as a continuous process
integrated in the interaction with the environment.
 Normative: the analysis of individual decisions concerned with the logic
of decision-making, or communicative rationality, and the invariant
choice it leads to.
 A major part of decision-making involves the analysis of a finite set of
alternatives described in terms of evaluative criteria. Then the task might be to
rank these alternatives in terms of how attractive they are to the decision-
maker(s) when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Another task
might be to find the best alternative or to determine the relative total priority of
each alternative (for instance, if alternatives represent projects competing for
funds) when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Solving such
problems is the focus of multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA).

This area of decision-making, although very old, has attracted the interest of
many researchers and practitioners and is still highly debated as there are
many MCDA methods which may yield very different results when they are
applied on exactly the same data. This leads to the formulation of a decision-
making paradox. 

Logical decision-making is an important part of all science-based

professions, where specialists apply their knowledge in a given area to make
informed decisions. For example, medical decision-making often involves
a diagnosis and the selection of appropriate treatment. But naturalistic
decision-making research shows that in situations with higher time pressure,
higher stakes, or increased ambiguities, experts may use intuitive decision-
making rather than structured approaches. They may follow a recognition
primed decision that fits their experience and arrive at a course of action
without weighing alternatives.

The decision-maker's environment can play a part in the decision-making

process. For example, environmental complexity is a factor that influences
cognitive function. A complex environment is an environment with a large
number of different possible states which come and go over time. Studies done
at the University of Colorado have shown that more complex environments
correlate with higher cognitive function, which means that a decision can be
influenced by the location. One experiment measured complexity in a room by
the number of small objects and appliances present; a simple room had less of
those things. Cognitive function was greatly affected by the higher measure of
environmental complexity making it easier to think about the situation and
make a better decision.

It is important to differentiate between problem solving, or problem analysis,

and decision-making. Problem solving is the process of investigating the given
information and finding all possible solutions through invention or discovery.
Traditionally, it is argued that problem solving is a step towards decision
making, so that the information gathered in that process may be used towards
decision-making.
 Characteristics of problem solving
 Problems are merely deviations from performance standards
 Problems must be precisely identified and described
 Problems are caused by a change from a distinctive feature
 Something can always be used to distinguish between what has and
hasn't been affected by a cause
 Causes of problems can be deduced from relevant changes found in
analyzing the problem
 Most likely cause of a problem is the one that exactly explains all the
facts, while having the fewest (or weakest) assumptions

Characteristics of decision-making
 Objectives must first be established
 Objectives must be classified and placed in order of importance
 Alternative actions must be developed
 The alternatives must be evaluated against all the objectives
 The alternative that is able to achieve all the objectives is the tentative
decision
 The tentative decision is evaluated for more possible consequences
 The decisive actions are taken, and additional actions are taken to
prevent any adverse consequences from becoming problems and starting
both systems (problem analysis and decision-making) all over again

 There are steps that are generally followed that result in a decision model
that can be used to determine an optimal production plan
 In a situation featuring conflict, role-playing may be helpful for
predicting decisions to be made by involved parties

Analysis paralysis

When a group or individual is unable to make it through the problem-solving

step on the way to making a decision, they could be experiencing analysis
paralysis. Analysis paralysis is the state that a person enters where they are
unable to make a decision, in effect paralyzing the outcome. Some of the main
causes for analysis paralysis is the overwhelming flood of incoming data or the
tendency to overanalyze the situation at hand. According to Lon Roberts, there
are three different types of analysis paralysis.
 The first is analysis process paralysis. This type of paralysis is often
spoken of as a cyclical process. One is unable to make a decision
because they get stuck go over the information again and again for fear
of making the wrong decision.
  The second is decision precision paralysis. This paralysis is cyclical, just
like the first one, but instead of going over the same information, the
decision-maker will find new questions and information from their
analysis and that will lead them to explore into further possibilities
rather than making a decision.
 The third is risk uncertainty paralysis. This paralysis occurs when the
decision-maker wants to eliminate any uncertainty but the examination
of provided information is unable to get rid of all uncertainty.

Extinction by instinct
On the opposite side of analysis paralysis is the phenomenon called
extinction by instinct. Extinction by instinct is the state that a person is in
when they make careless decisions without detailed planning or thorough
systematic processes. Extinction by instinct can possibly be fixed by
implementing a structural system, like checks and balances into a group or
one’s life. Analysis paralysis is the exact opposite where a group’s schedule
could be saturated by too much of a structural checks and balance system.

Extinction by instinct in a group setting

Groupthink is another occurrence that falls under the idea of extinction by
instinct. According to Irving L. Janis, groupthink is when members in a group
become more involved in the “value of the group (and their being part of it)
higher than anything else”; thus, creating a habit of making decisions quickly
and unanimously. In other words, a group stuck in groupthink are
participating in the phenomenon of extinction by instinct.

Information overload
Information overload is "a gap between the volume of information and the
tools we have to assimilate" it. Information used in decision making is to
reduce or eliminate uncertainty. Excessive information affects problem
processing and tasking, which affects decision-making. Psychologist George
Armitage Miller suggests that humans’ decision making becomes inhibited
because human brains can only hold a limited amount of information. Crystal
C. Hall and colleagues described an "illusion of knowledge", which means that
as individuals encounter too much knowledge it can interfere with their ability
to make rational decisions. Other names for information overload are
information anxiety, information explosion, infobesity, and infoxication.

Decision fatigue
Decision fatigue is when a sizable amount of decision-making leads to a
decline in decision-making skills. People who make decisions in an extended
period of time begin to lose mental energy needed to analyze all possible
solutions. It is speculated that decision fatigue only happens to those who
believe willpower has a limited capacity. Impulsive decision-making or decision
avoidance are two possible paths that extend from decision fatigue. Impulse
decisions are made more often when a person is tired of analysis situations or
solutions; the solution they make is to act and not think. Decision avoidance is
when a person evades the situation entirely by not ever making a decision.
Decision avoidance is different from analysis paralysis because this sensation
is about avoiding the situation entirely, while analysis paralysis is continually
looking at the decisions to be made but still unable to make a choice.

Post-decision analysis
Evaluation and analysis of past decisions is complementary to decision-
making.

Neuroscience
Decision-making is a region of intense study in the fields of systems
neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. Several brain structures, including
the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex, and the
overlapping ventromedial prefrontal cortex are believed to be involved in
decision-making processes. A neuroimaging study found distinctive patterns of
neural activation in these regions depending on whether decisions were made
on the basis of perceived personal volition or following directions from someone
else. Patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex have difficulty
making advantageous decisions.
A common laboratory paradigm for studying neural decision-making is
the two-alternative forced choice task (2AFC), in which a subject has to choose
between two alternatives within a certain time. A study of a two-alternative
forced choice task involving rhesus monkeys found that neurons in the parietal
cortex not only represent the formation of a decision but also signal the degree
of certainty (or "confidence") associated with the decision. Another recent study
found that lesions to the ACC in the macaque resulted in impaired decision-
making in the long run of reinforcement guided tasks suggesting that the ACC
may be involved in evaluating past reinforcement information and guiding
future action. A 2012 study found that rats and humans can optimally
accumulate incoming sensory evidence, to make statistically optimal decisions.

Emotions
Emotion appears able to aid the decision-making process. Decision-making
often occurs in the face of uncertainty about whether one's choices will lead to
benefit or harm. The somatic marker hypothesis is a neurobiological theory of
how decisions are made in the face of uncertain outcome. This theory holds
that such decisions are aided by emotions, in the form of bodily states, that are
elicited during the deliberation of future consequences and that mark different
options for behavior as being advantageous or disadvantageous. This process
involves an interplay between neural systems that elicit emotional/bodily
states and neural systems that map these emotional/bodily states. A recent
lesion mapping study of 152 patients with focal brain lesions conducted
by Aron K. Barbey and colleagues provided evidence to help discover the neural
mechanisms of emotional intelligence.
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Chalmers, T. (2016, October 25). Worried that you might not be a natural
leader? Developing your leadership style with the Kouzes and Posner
leadership framework. Leading Figures.

Retrieved from www.leadingfigures.com/worried-that-you-might-not-be-