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A Better Framework to Make Smart Decisions

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A perfectly good decision that seems like the most rational choice at the moment can turn out to be a disaster later. We aren’t intentionally stupid or try to make bad decisions. Most of the time we jump to a conclusion and stick to it because we lack a framework to make better decisions. We fail to realize that good decision-making simply boils down to eliminating bad choices and that requires asking good questions.

Making consistently high-quality decisions isn’t reserved for a few talented people who are born with the art of decision-making. It’s a skill that can be learned. Learning to ask the right questions will profoundly enhance the success of all your future decision-making by preventing you from making choices you end up regretting.

1. Am I stating the problem correctly? 

How you frame the problem statement and what you wish to achieve from the decision can make all the difference. Stating the problem by assuming a certain solution, starting with assumptions, or missing the larger problem by trying to fix the symptoms will always lead to a wrong decision. Identify if your question is biased towards a specific solution or starts with certain assumptions. Make sure you are addressing the right problem. 

2. Is this decision reversible or irreversible? 

We make thousands of decisions throughout the day and not each one of our decisions deserves our equal attention. While low-consequence reversible decisions can be made real quick, it’s the high-consequence irreversible decisions that must be made with extra care. 

Jeff Bezos explains this in his 2015 annual shareholder letter “Some decisions are consequential and irreversible or nearly irreversible – one-way doors – and these decisions must be made methodically, carefully, slowly, with great deliberation and consultation. If you walk through and don’t like what you see on the other side, you can’t get back to where you were before. We can call these Type 1 decisions. But most decisions aren’t like that – they are changeable, reversible – they’re two-way doors. If you’ve made a suboptimal Type 2 decision, you don’t have to live with the consequences for that long. You can reopen the door and go back through.”

Separate reversible from irreversible decisions to determine the process, time, energy, and strategy you need to apply to make that decision.

3. How important is this decision to me and why?

Knowing why the decision matters to you or how a wrong decision can impact you can be a powerful motivator to re-examine your process. It can make you look beyond obvious and easy options to the other choices that may seem hard at first but are more promising and better suited to your problem. Identify your stake in the decision and ask yourself why you really care about the right decision. Disconnect your identity from your idea and focus on actually making the right decision. Because what matters in the end is making the right decision and not you being right.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” – Tony Robbins

4. What costs am I willing to pay to delay this decision?

Delaying decision-making is one of the most common tactics to avoid facing our real fears. Fear is a very real feeling and left unattended it can wreak havoc in our lives. Fear can make us imagine the worst possible scenarios that are highly unlikely and use them as an excuse for inaction. 

Getting stuck with analysis-paralysis by looking up more and more information or avoiding the decision with the fear of making a wrong one can prevent you from grabbing the right opportunities at the right time. The cost of indecision is often higher than the cost of making a wrong decision.

Get rid of unwanted fears that might hold you back by defining them. Compare the cost of delaying the decision to the worst that can happen. Then, set yourself a reasonable date to make a decision and work backward from it to actually complete it in time. 

5. What are the different alternatives?

With confirmation bias at play, we interpret and selectively gather data to fit our beliefs while rejecting other plausible alternatives. Asking this question sets the expectation that there’s more than one possible solution. It will open you to the idea of exploring alternative explanations. 

Annie Duke, a former professional poker player and author of Thinking in Bets, writes in her book “What makes a decision great is not that it has a great outcome. A great decision is the result of a good process, and that process must include an attempt to accurately represent our own state of knowledge. That state of knowledge, in turn, is some variation of I’m not sure.”

Instead of trying to make a decision where you are 100% sure, embrace uncertainty. Evaluate different options based on the probability that a specific outcome will occur. Include others’ opinions. Your experience and knowledge of those around you will determine the accuracy of your evaluations. 

6. How will this decision look in the future?

Most of the time we think just one step ahead and make a decision without evaluating the potential impact of our decision way into the future. We try to optimize for a small gain in the present while ignoring the potential downsides of this decision in the future.

By understanding the consequences of your decision, you can rid yourself of choices that you will regret later. By factoring your future into your decision process and visualizing how the decision will play out, you can avoid the avoidable.

Once you include these questions into your decision-making process, you will notice a tremendous improvement in the quality of your decisions. While mastering them and building upon them will take practice, noticing subtle changes in your thought process that these questions invoke will help you make even better decisions.

Vinita Bansal is the founder of TechTello. She has a vast amount of experience in the technology space building large engineering teams from the ground up and leading products with massive scale impacting millions of customers. She is also the author of Upgrade Your Mindset: How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Tap Your Potential. Her experience and knowledge have helped her coach and mentor people from diverse backgrounds to build the skills and support required to grow in their careers and feel confident to take on higher-level responsibilities within their organizations. Connect with her on Twitter @techtello.

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In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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