A632.2.3.RB - Sheena Iyengar: How to Make Choosing
Easier
As a leader or manager, the choices
and decisions you make will define your success or failure. In her 2011 Ted
Talks video, How to Make Choosing Easier,
Sheena Iyengar analyzes decision making truths and offers four techniques for
mitigating decision overload: 1. Cut –
less in more. When people are provided with less choices they tend to actually make
decisions. 2. Concretization – for people to be able
to make decisions – the must be able to understand the consequences associated
with each choice. The consequences need to be felt in a vivid and concrete way.
3. Categorization – people can handle
more categories than they can choices. When items are properly categorized,
people feel they are given more choices. 4. Condition
for complexity – we can handle more choices than we think; as long as the
choices are presented in a clear way. All of techniques are offered to help you
and the people you are serving to make better decisions.
By cutting the amount of
choices I have to make on a daily basis I am more likely to pick the best
decision, or make the best of the decision made. One of the things I have
always liked about the military is the lack of decisions necessary on a daily
basis. We are taught easy-to-understand rules during the first weeks of basic
military training. There are areas of greater interest than serving one’s self –
that of the team or unit. After nineteen years of service these rules are still
present. Early this year I deployed to a remote location where I had simple
uniform rules to follow and only had a couple of choices when it came to meals.
In my mind, I was no less happy in finding pleasure in the simple things than I
am at home with unlimited decisions. To me there’s something relaxing about simplifying
the choices and decisions we are forced to make on a daily basis.
As a member and leader in a
military rescue unit, I am required to make decisions that are long reaching –
meaning they have the ability to affect many people and units within the rescue
community. While the decisions are based on a complex set of scenarios, it is
important for me to understand exactly how my choices to integrate other forces
on the aircraft affect the teams and mission success. For example; I must be willing
to understand a broad range of complex scenarios and present the teams and
aircraft commander with multiple options. With this in mind, I would say we are
most definitely conditioned for complexity. There is always more than one way
to get the job done, the aircrews must use their experience and job knowledge
to present the most feasible options for each scenario.
According
to Myatt (2012), you cannot separate leadership from decision making, they are
inexorably linked. Leaders who are successful sometimes make bad decisions, the
key is to better understand how and why we make certain choices in order not to
repeat past mistakes.
References:
Iyengar,
S. (2011, November). Sheena Iyengar: How to make choosing easier. [Video file] YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose#t-939953
Myatt, M.
(2012). 6 tips for making better decisions. Forbes.com. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/03/28/6-tips-for-making-better- decisions/#4dad4da234dc
