Management and Leadership

Optimizing Outcomes Through Better Decision Making

• Traditional Classroom: 1/2-day
• Virtual Instructor-led: One 3-hour session or Two 90-minute sessions

As human beings, we are not very good at making decisions (even though we think that we are). According to psychologist and author Daniel Kahneman, our decision-making processes are “alarmingly contaminated with cognitive biases.” Fortunately, making better decisions is a learnable skill, and that is the focus of this session.

In this interactive workshop we will identify key driers of good decision making, examining ways to separate facts from perceptions and embrace “cognitive dissonance.” Participants will be introduced to a four-step framework to enhance the quality of their decisions. After exploring various decision-making tools and techniques, participants will focus on a practical application within their work setting.

Target Audience

This course is designed for project managers, mid-level managers, leaders, team leads, those making the transition between individual contributor and manager or leader of people, and anyone who wants to learn how to make better strategic decisions.

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish between a decision and an outcome.
• Identify ways to mitigate outcome bias in decision making.
• Describe the rational decision-making model.
• Explain various challenges we as humans have to making sound decisions.
• Utilize the WRAP model to overcome the four villains of strategic decision making.
• Employ selected techniques and models to enhance the quality and robustness of your decisions.

Course Outline

Introduction and Objectives

Decisions Versus Outcomes

• Group Activity: Your Approach to Decision Making

Cognitive Bias and Decision Science

• The “Rational” Decision-Making Model
• Daniel Kahneman’s Two Thinking Models
• The Spotlight Effect
• Class Discussion: A Decision Scenario

The Four Villains of Decision Making

• Narrow Framing
• Confirmation Bias
• Short-Term Emotion
• Overconfidence

The WRAP Model

• Class Discussion: Scenarios Exploring the WRAP Model
• Individual and Group Activity: Run a Decision Through the WRAP Model

Additional Decision-Making Models and Techniques

• Pairwise Comparison
• Kepner-Tregoe Method
• De Bono Six Thinking Hats

Making Decisions with Groups or Teams

• RAPID Decision-Making Model

Summary and Next Steps

MDV2024 Course Code