Courageous decision-making is a superpower of the future, and by working on your decision-making skills, fueled by courage rather than fear, you’ll have a unique advantage.
In our work with executives (and as I covered in a recent talk with Growth Faculty), the challenge of making decisions in a rapidly changing world has come to the forefront. In sessions, I’ve been asked questions like:
“How do we know when we’re making the right decision for our team and the future?”
“I want to make a courageous decision, but I’m afraid it will go wrong. There’s too much at stake.”
“I have ideas on what to do, but I have no idea what will work.”
People think you either have courage or you don’t. That courage is an emotion and not a skill. But, as the academic study we inspired on courage proved, courage can also be a decision.
Courageous decision-making is a superpower of the future, and by working on your decision-making skills, fueled by courage rather than fear, you’ll have a unique advantage.
Here’s some good news. By reading this article and investing in self-development, you’ve already made a courageous decision to put yourself ahead of the curve. Bravo!
So many decisions
Life is a series of decisions, choices, tests, and actions that define us.
Every day, the average person makes 35,000 decisions, from minor choices (sliced apple or peanut butter cups for a snack?) to the major (am I ready to quit my job to start my own business?)
And if you average 8 hours of sleep per night, that means you’re making about 2,000 decisions an hour, or one choice every two seconds!
Every decision you’ve made until now has brought you to this moment, helping you learn who you are, what you want in life, or what you don’t want in life.
The impact of decisions as a leader has an even greater impact, as it not only impacts you but your team and company as well.
With the world changing as rapidly as it is, how do you know what decisions to make? How will you know if what you decide today is right for the future, when no one knows where the future is going?
With decisions like what software to use, what company culture to foster, ways of working for modern employees, and what products to develop, leaders are faced with tough decisions to know what the future will require and how to keep a competitive edge.
It can seem overwhelming, but if you reframe the power of choice as an empowering gift, you’ll unlock the courageous decision-making needed.
There, another courageous decision made there, you’re on a roll!
How to think about decision-making
“The most courageous decision you can make each day is to be in a good mood.”
I said this Voltair quote to the 100+ executives at one of my recent talks. Laughter filled the room, in a “that’s so funny and true” way.
It is that simple and complex, though. Your state of mind affects your behavior, which affects your results.
Your choices are influenced by your filters and biases—how you think and feel. If your primary filter is fear, your strategies and actions will be built around that. But if you choose courage and curiosity, your internal state and the decisions you’ll make from that place will transform.
It’s easy to default to fear. The unknown is scary. But choosing courage over fear puts you at a strategic advantage. Those who lean into the unknown, leverage new technologies, and adopt innovative practices can create exponential change.
Decision-making shifts you can make
From fear to courage
Instead of reacting to challenges and making decisions from a place of fear, look at the challenge through a lens of courage. Ask yourself, “What’s behind my fear? Is my fear real?” Often you’ll realize your fears aren’t founded. Then ask, “What’s the courage needed here?” and “How can I approach this decision with courage rather than reacting in fear?”
Even micro-moments of courage can lead to significant changes.
From certainty to confidence
Deciding to affirm based on what you’re certain about is comforting, but can be limiting. Confidence, on the other hand, opens up your ability to navigate the unknown (which opens up possibilities!)
Remember, you’ve gotten through every challenge you’ve ever faced. Your past achievements have built practice, resilience and capacity you may not realize you have. Tap into the confidence of your past experiences and know that you can navigate this, too.
You can decide to only go after things that you’re very certain about, or you can decide to go after things that you have confidence you’ll figure out.
From control to create
Shift from trying to control every situation (which is fighting with the reality of what is) to creating new opportunities. Transformative thinking involves imagining what’s possible, not just what is. If a situation feels out of your control, step into a mindset of causality and create something different.
From improve to transform
Don’t just improve the old system—transform it. The system of the future will be different than the system of today.
Improvement is taking the same molecules and moving them around in a different way; transformation creates new molecules. Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, transformation requires unlearning old ways and embracing new possibilities.
Remember, the caterpillar already has everything inside that it needs to become the butterfly. So do you.
Your future version of yourself and your business requires transformation, not just improvement.
Solve from the future
Instead of solving problems from the present, project yourself into the future and solve for the present from there. This forward-thinking approach can free you from current limitations.
Inventions have to make sense in the world in which they’re finished, not in which they started (Ray Kurzweil). Imagine what the world will look like when your products are adopted and thriving and you can work backwards to the present day.
Ecology mindset
When you consider a decision, do it ecologically. Most people first want to do what’s right for them, and that’s natural.
But if you decide to create or act in a way that not only helps yourself but others, you’ll find yourself living an amazing life. You’ll create an empathetic ripple, solving problems for others, and, what I’ve personally found, abundance will come back to you.
Check your emotions
Emotions can affect decisions, big time.
A scientific study conducted by Jennifer Lerner and colleagues at Harvard University found that emotional states can lead to biased thinking, reducing the quality of decisions. For example, fear can result in more risk-averse choices, while anger may lead to increased risk-taking and impulsive decisions. These findings suggest that making decisions while feeling emotional can hinder rational and optimal decision-making.
Ask yourself or your team, before making big decisions, “How are you? How are things going? How is your energy? How are you feeling?”
Don’t rush it
Giving yourself and your team permission to take time with important decisions is crucial for the most thoughtful outcomes.
An interesting reflection from Jeff Bezos relates to how he and his team made decisions:
“If I make three good decisions a day, that’s enough, and they should just be as high quality as I can make them.
Warren Buffett says he’s good if he makes three good decisions a year, and I really believe that.”
The important role of psychological safety
Creating a psychologically safe environment is crucial for courageous thinking. If your team fears punishment for their ideas, they won’t share them with you.
Leaders must create spaces where bold thinking is encouraged, celebrated, and rewarded, even if the courageous decision doesn’t work out in the end.
Foster a culture of allowing “falls” and “failures,” applauding the effort in going for a courageous idea, learning, and sharing learnings as you and your team go.
How to decide with courage, step-by-step
- Think: Think about your mindset before you decide. Are you approaching the issue with courage or fear? Are you in the same old mental model or an updated one? Watch out for your filters and biases and harness your curiosity and open-mindedness.
- Plan: Make decisions to execute your plans. Who do you need to make it happen? Who do you need to collaborate with? What services do you need?
- Do: Execute your plans with courage, keeping in mind that “late-binding decisions” can help you stay agile. Think of your decision as a lease, not a purchase. You’re living into your decision, but you can stay agile and change your plan based on any new information you learn along the way.
- Review: Review the outcome of your decision, and make adjustments as needed for the future. What did you learn? What went well, and what could have been improved or done differently?
Feeling indecisive?
Everyone goes through indecisive moments, and some folks are more indecisive than others in general.
Usually, an indecisive person has the best intentions and cares immensely about an outcome—they don’t want to get it wrong, so they never decide.
If this sounds like you, spend more time in the “thinking” category of courageous decision-making. You may have lost a sense of purpose in what you’re deciding about. Maybe you don’t have enough information, you don’t have a stake, or you have two seemingly equal great options (like two great job candidates).
With a strong sense of purpose, deciding will be easier (see our Power of Purpose tool here). Ask yourself, what is most important? What will move me toward what I ideally want in life?
Courageous decision-making
If you stay in a controlling mindset, only improving what you know, reacting with fear, and trying to operate from certainty versus confidence, you and your team will be stuck.
There’s no “perfect” decision. It’s okay to keep reworking it and stay agile as you go. As Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”
By making courageous decisions, you can transform your life and lead others towards a thriving future.
Remember, choice is your superpower. Choose courage over fear, creation over control, and transformation over mere improvement.
Example decision: Helping a child decide on a college
After one of my talks on courageous decision-making, an executive who was also a dad of a teen asked me, “My daughter is going to college; how do I help her decide?”
Kids these days are drowning in options (I have four kids, two of whom are nearing the same age to go to college, so I am living this right now!) With all the choices, which path do they take?
I advised this parent to sit down with their child and start a conversation like this: “Well, this is probably how I would go about it, but more importantly, how would you go about it? Let’s work through it.”
Use the opportunity to teach courageous decision-making and strategic thinking skills.
“Then,” I advised, “just listen.”
As you’re listening, you might find opportunities to ask questions like, “Are you feeling scared about that?” Your child might say, “Yes, I’m anxious.” Then you can ask, “What is the worry, specifically?” They’ll answer. Then you might say, “Do you think that is actually true and will happen? So what is the courage needed here?”
This way, your child decides for their life, not yours. If we don’t teach our kids to decide themselves, they’ll always be dependent on someone else deciding for them. They can learn to trust their decisions and intuition.
Need a courageous decision-making guide?
Step-by-step, we can help. Reach out!
Co-writer: Shannon Geher//Research: FIN
