Strategic decision making is one of the core defining attributes of a successful business leader. The ability to think strategically and to make effective decisions is important as a business leader, as changing circumstances within the business and external factors result in business leaders needing to respond, make effective decisions, and to ultimately implement them successfully. In this article, we will explore the importance of strategic decision making within a business, and how to make better strategic decisions by utilising strategic decision making skills. We will also explain why this is a skill that all business leaders should seek to develop, as effective strategic decision making forms the foundation of a business strategy.
Prioritise Your Decisions
The first step of effective decision making is to prioritise what decisions need making first, and to order them in a hierarchy of importance. By being able to identify what needs to be decided first, you can make more effective decisions by focusing on priorities and implementing strategies in order of importance. Knowing how to prioritise situations that require decision making can be difficult at first, but business leaders will gain enough experience for prioritising decisions to become instinctive.
Learn the Principles of Effective Strategic Decision Making
In order to make effective decisions, it is important to learn the principles of effective strategic decision making. It is vital to be able to at first analyse a situation effectively, and to then understand what decisive actions are needed to make the most impact and improvements within the business. From here, an effective business leader should be able to allocate people’s time and resources to effectively make the decision and to manage it’s implementation. Peter Drucker states that effective business executives do not make many decisions, but the decisions that they do make are effective. He draws the conclusion that good business executives make fewer well thought out decisions, whereas lesser competent business executives make more frequent business decisions, but have less time to calculate and to plan the decisions effectively. Effective decision makers know that the most difficult and time consuming aspect of decision making is knowing how to implement the decision and to put a plan into place within the wider business.
Understand the Importance of Strategy
When making decisions, it is important not to underestimate the importance of strategy. When faced with problems and situations where decisions need to be made, it is tempting and almost instinctive to react quickly to the issue and to come up with a solution fast. Thinking and acting quickly may seem like the most beneficial response at the time, however by taking more time to think more strategically, you are more likely to make a decision that provides a more effective and long lasting solution.
Take into Account Organisational Values and Vision
When making strategic decisions, having a clear understanding of organisational values is important to influence strategic decisions. By understanding organisational values when making decisions, you are able to know what kind of decision needs to be made in order to have the most benefit to the business. By understanding the importance of organisational vision, you will be able to think about the long term goals of the business, and to understand what sort of decision needs to be made in order to help to achieve the long term goals of the business.
Book a Course with Us
Our CMI Level 7 - Strategic Decision Making for Leaders programme focuses on teaching delegates everything they need to know to be able to make effective strategic decisions. Effective strategic decision making is an essential skill that business leaders need to hold in order to ensure the success of the workplace.
At In Professional Development, strategic decision making is a skill within the workplace that we also cover on many of our other professional training courses. To find out more about our courses, visit our Courses page, and click on the relevant course. Alternatively, or if you’d like more information before booking, email us at enquiries@inpd.co.uk, send us a message using the form on our Contact page, or call us on 0161 826 3139. We look forward to hearing from you and advising you on the right course for you.
