Last week I mentioned I would share a little tip with you to help you make quicker decisions.

It’s something I came up with during a recent coaching session.

My client, we’ll call her Trudy, had been given feedback from her boss that he was frustrated with the length of time it was taking for some of the projects he had asked for, to be completed.

Trudy was committed to the projects, however when she went to action them, her brain kept posing different “What if” questions. What if this happens? What if that doesn’t work out? What if so and so doesn’t like it?  The list of What if questions was endless and it was preventing her from taking action.

As often happens when I’m coaching, I saw a picture. The picture was the Risk Assessment Matrix that is used to eliminate or reduce work health and safety risks. (See below.)

I shared the Risk Assessment Matrix with Trudy and asked her a “What if” question.

“What if, for every question you come up with, you ask yourself two more questions?”

She leaned in.

“What is the likelihood of this happening and what are the possible consequences if it did?”

“Wow!” she exclaimed. “That could really work.”

We tested it out on a couple of her “What if” questions, e.g. “What if John makes a mistake with the task?” (This was preventing Trudy from delegating.)

“What’s the likelihood of John making a mistake?” I asked.

“It’s possible”, she said, “but probably unlikely”.

“What is the consequence if John makes a mistake?” I asked.

“It’s not really a big deal”, she answered. “After all, he knows the software and uses it all the time.”

With that she made an instant decision to let go and let John do the work.

She was on fire. All she had to do was ask the two questions in the Risk Assessment Matrix to help her make quicker decisions.

It’s your turn. Have a go and let me know some of the questions you ask and what you decide as well as if it helped to make your decisions more quickly.

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P.P.S.  Dates have been confirmed for our next Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience:  Thursdays – 10th, 17th, 24th February and 3rd March 2022. Early Bird Discount finishes 31st December 2021. More information click here

I fell off my pushbike today.

I was following Ross and he navigated a tricky pedestrian crossing at the lights.

A car stopped for him and the driver waved him on.

I was happy to stop and wait, however the driver waved me on too.

I felt pressured to keep going, although I’m not as proficient at riding as Ross.

Of course I fell over.

Right in the middle of the road.

Right in front of the driver.

Right in front of all the other cars that were stopped at the lights.

I was embarrassed.

I was hurt and Ross was nowhere to be seen.

The young driver called out to see if I was ok.

I had somehow landed on my backside with both legs in the air and I managed to roll over and found myself laying there with hands, palms facing down on the road, for what seemed like minutes before I gathered myself and untwisted the bike and walked to the other side of the road.

Where was Ross?

All I wanted to do was cry and melt into his arms.

He had ridden up the road and was waiting; sitting on a seat outside our destination.

Now I was mad.

Instead of melting into his arms, I wanted to punch him.

“Get a mirror”, I screamed

“Get a mirror on that damn bike so you can see what’s happening behind you.”

Of course, this outburst came because of an earlier frustration I had had with him not hearing me call out when we were riding in Darwin.

And to my point, no matter what we are doing, we need to be present and remain alert and of course, not pressure ourselves when we’re in situations that are uncomfortable.

What will you do?

Will you get a mirror?

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