How to Make Better Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Information
A leader’s guide to thinking like a journalist
I want to preface this all by saying: I don’t like making decisions. I certainly do not enjoy making decisions when I have limited information. In my ideal state as a human, I imagine I’d never need to make any decisions ever.
Needless to say, I didn’t know this about myself when I was 15 and decided to become a journalist, a job in which my ability to make consistently good judgments on deadline would come to define my success.
Defying my indecisive nature, I learned how to make good decisions quickly under pressure very early on. The return on my investment has been high. Making good decisions quickly is an underrated leadership skill. When I reflect on my career, no single human competency has benefitted me more than my instincts as a reporter. As a team leader who thinks like a journalist, I can make better decisions, faster (and you can, too!).
Skill, Not Talent
If you don’t feel like you’re particularly great under pressure, you’re not alone. A Harvard Business Review study found that “a large majority of managers and leaders buckle under pressure.” The study showed not only that “43% are more angry and heated than cool and…
