Decision Making Steps

There are several ways to make a decision, and you have to find the method(s) that are right for you and right for the choice you are trying to make. No matter if you are making a career choice or deciding what to wear for an interview, decision making has 4 main steps:

1. Define the decisions to be made (What choice are you trying to make? Why is it necessary?)

2. Identify your options (What are the list of alternatives you have?)

3. Gather Information on each option (What is each option all about? Which criteria do you value the most and why?)

4. Evaluate the options and decide (What are the strengths and weaknesses of each option? Which do you prefer?)

Understanding Your Style

Understanding your decision making style and which ones have been more (or less) effective can provide you with the confidence to make decisions moving forward. To understand your style, see the Understanding Your Style Chart. After you have completed the chart, you should have a better understanding of your decision making style and whether it's effective for you.

Things to consider:

• Is there a common style you used?
• Do you know what (or who) you take into consideration when making a decision?
• Did it depend on the type of decision you were making?

Try and incorporate these into your next decision.

Prioritizing

For complex decision you may need to prioritize your options or criteria. Prioritizing is the act of evaluating multiple options and determining an order of importance. Sometimes this is easy, but sometimes the order of importance is not clear. Making lists, reflecting on your values, and asking yourself what is most important can be all that is required in some cases. If you are having trouble prioritizing, consider the Prioritizing Grid Model.  Click here to view the Prioritzing Grid Model.