The Key to Better Decision-Making, In and Out of the Office

There are countless business books, courses, and blog posts aimed at helping leaders make better decisions. And for a good reason: as leaders, the success or failure of projects, plans, and even entire organizations rest in the decisions we make daily.  Deciding on which philosophy to employ can be an overwhelming decision in itself! However, there is a deceptively simple practice that can make beneficial decision-making much more straightforward.

Focus on the what instead of the why

Quick: think of the last time you had a bad day at work. As soon as you finished work for the day, you were likely plagued with all the reasons why your day was terrible. Your team didn’t perform as expected. Traffic was a hassle. It’s too hot. Any number of negative thoughts likely refused to leave you alone.

However, leading experts such as Dr. Tasha Eurich, a renowned author and leading authority on organizational psychology, offer a solution. According to Dr. Eurich’s research, professionals who can ask themselves what instead of why are primed to make better decisions about where to turn their attention.

In the case of the aforementioned bad day, if you could stop the barrage of negative thoughts long enough to ask yourself, “what am I feeling?” you might discover that you are hungry and exhausted. You could then decide to address what you’re feeling by having a healthy snack and doing something relaxing before proceeding with your day.

The power of naming your emotions

Naming your emotions empowers you to investigate your feelings instead of being helplessly bombarded by them. In fact, a growing body of research suggests that naming our feelings lessens their intensity. Neurologically speaking, this is huge because taking the time to name our emotions interrupts the flight-or-fight response, which can trap us in a cycle of negative thoughts. Exploring your emotions and feelings is the first step to regaining control and clarity and is thus the path to making better decisions.  

Although naming feelings sounds simple, many people struggle with it and may find it intimidating. However, the true power of asking yourself what questions lies in applying the brakes on negative or out-of-control feelings, which allows you to make constructive decisions. Accurately labeling your emotions takes practice.

Turn the question inward

While learning to ask what instead of why is helpful in many circumstances, there is an important exception, especially for leaders. When dealing with challenges or mistakes, especially in the workplace, asking why something went wrong is vital—in these circumstances, not asking why puts you at risk of the undesired behavior being repeated.

This applies outside of the office, as well. Generally speaking, asking why helps us understand our circumstances while asking what helps us learn more about ourselves.

Our attention is our currency

The ability to decide where to turn our attention has enormous potential in everything from our careers to our mindsets. When we choose to pay attention to things within our control, we empower ourselves to make decisions that have a long-reaching, positive impact.  What questions encourage curiosity about our emotions, whereas why questions trap us in our limitations or past events.

Using what instead of why questions is a crucial step to making better decisions that will help create a better future for yourself, in and out of the workplace. If you’ve had enough of feeling trapped by vicious cycles of negative thoughts, take advantage of Leadership Delta’s years of experience in guiding leaders like yourself. We are here to help.