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Manage Decisions with the Power of Emotionally Intelligent Assertiveness

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 16 Comments on Manage Decisions with the Power of Emotionally Intelligent Assertiveness

Being an effective proponent of ideas is critical to leading and managing projects well.  Advocacy is essential to managing conflict and making decisions.

An assertive, emotionally intelligent, approach to advocacy enables achieving the goals of getting to the right decision – design, plan, agreement – and maintaining healthy relationships that enable people to work and live together happily and effectively.

The theme of my book Managing Conflict in Projects is the ability to reach optimal resolutions and maintain healthy relationships by being an assertive, non-aggressive, advocate, combining analytical clarity, mindful awareness, and emotional intelligence.

In this article the focus is on achieving the goals of optimal decisions and healthy relationships by being assertive, with an open mind, clear communication and a sense of collaboration rather than enmity, even with the opposition.

These qualities go beyond project work.  They are basic foundations for effective performance, conscious living, happiness, and stress reduction.

“Be supple mentally.  Strength does not lie in being firm and strong but in being pliable. The pliable tree stands in a gale. Gather the strength of a swift mind.” – J. Krishnamurti

Must One Be Aggressive to ‘Win’?

However, there is a widespread belief that it takes aggression to get things done.  Is this belief well founded or is it the result of listening to and emulating people who do not know how to use the powers of open mindedness, kindness, and effective communication to find best ways forward?

Does non-aggressive, acceptance get in the way of being effective in leading, managing conflict and effectively promoting one’s ideas?  Does non-aggression and acceptance mean being a doormat for aggressive coworkers, opponents, and partners?  The short answer is NO!

These questions have come up many times in coaching and learning sessions.  Let’s explore to find an optimal way of addressing sensitive issues, disagreements, and decision making.

Aggression and Assertiveness

We begin by defining aggression and assertiveness.  Aggression and assertiveness are often used as synonyms, but when we analyze them, we find important differences.

Aggression brings to mind hostility, violence, opposition, and a readiness to attack.  It is “strong self-assertion with hostile or harmful tones.  … Aggressive behaviors can lead to academic, employment, financial, legal and relationship problems.”

Assertiveness has a different connotation.  To be assertive “means being able to stand up for your own or other people’s rights in a calm and positive way, without being either aggressive, or passively accepting ‘wrong’.” 

Neither aggression nor assertiveness are passive, indifferent, or apathetic.  The difference between them is that unlike aggressiveness, assertiveness is not destructive and threatening.  To be assertive is to be self-confidently forceful without the anger and hostility.  Assertiveness is compatible with empathy, kindness and caring.

So, one can be a successful advocate by being assertive rather than aggressive.  You can care about or at least be cognizant of others and still be a proponent of your ideas and wellbeing.  You can overcome the anger, frustration, jealousy, and fear that trigger aggression.

Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness: Foundation for Assertiveness

This is where emotional intelligence (EI) comes into the picture.  EI is the learnable capacity to apply self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and awareness of one’s motivation. EI enables the ability to cut through the tendency to be driven by emotions into aggression or passivity. 

Mindfulness is the capacity and courage to objectively observe everything, including one’s inner workings.  Mindfulness enables EI.

See below for references for more on EI and Mindfulness.

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Acceptance

Acceptance is a factor in healthy assertiveness.  Acceptance is the capacity to see and be OK with reality.  In this context, acceptance does not mean favoring or passively living with what is “wrong.”  It means that one is wise to see things objectively as they are, be OK with them, and from the platform of OK-ness move forward to assert and promote change.

For example, one can accept the fact that people have different ideas that oppose yours without either being angry at them or agreeing with them for the sake of peace. Taking it to another level, one can accept that opposing ideas are better or at least as good as yours. Accepting that leads to collaboration to find the optimal solution regardless of its author.

Perceptions

Aggression is perceived by the aggressee.  Sometimes, the aggressor is acting consciously.  Other times a person may think that he or she is acting in a perfectly benign way, while others may experience a sense of fear because they perceive aggression.

The role of Emotional intelligence becomes clear as we understand that aggression involves the interplay among behaviors, individual perceptions, emotions, cultural norms, intention, and values.  Understanding from the perspective of others enables collaboration and a greater ability to manage aggression.

Here are two examples of how perceived aggression can affect relationships and performance:

  1. Bill says to Paula, “You speak so well.”  If Paula is a person of color, she might sense a micro aggression.  Paula might think “Of course I speak well I was well educated, grew up in the suburbs, and have a PhD in English Lit from Yale.”  She might have the sense of being stereotyped by her ethnicity.  And that may bring up psychological and emotional issues.
  2. At a design session, Harry says “That’s a dumb idea and here’s why.” and then goes on a critique, identifying all the flaws in Jim’s concept. Harry’s demeanor, his vibe, is strongly competitive.  There is an underlying sense of anger.  Harry doesn’t perceive himself as being aggressive.  He is just advocating for his idea in the way he has always advocated.  “That’s the way I am.” he thinks and says.  His behavior may trigger any number of reactions and responses.  Those that know him and recognize his knowledge and critical ability, might be thinking, there he goes again.  Once he’s done, we will have all the negatives and we can explore the positive side. Others might react differently depending on their emotional intelligence.

Action

The bottom line is that it is skillful to be assertive rather than aggressive.  Take the anger that drives aggression and transmute it into analytical clarity.  Use the clarity to assert what is “right.” Couple that with a motivation to find the optimal way forward, with healthy relationships.

The action steps are:

  • Cultivate mindful awareness.
  • Intend to be responsive rather than reactive.
  • Observe your behavior and feelings.
  • Note anger, fear, insecurity, and all the other emotions.
  • See yourself and your ideas objectively, as if they weren’t yours.
  • Experience the presence of empathetic co-operation – the natural capacity for people to work together.
  • Act.

References:

Here are a few resources for those wanting to explore further.

Books
Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel GolemanEmotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman
Managing Conflict in Projects: Applying Mindfulness and Analysis for Optimal Results, by George Pitagorsky PMI Publishing 2012,

Articles
Making Effective Decisions: What is the Truth and How Important is it?
Conflict Management – Trading Anger for Understanding
Ready For Anything – Mindfully Aware
The Practical Side of Empathy – A Critical PM Success Factor
“What Makes A Leader” by Daniel Goleman, best of Harvard Business Review 1998)

Videos
Mindfulness Meditation Practice
Short video tutorials on what mindfulness meditation is and how to do it

Manage Decisions with the Power of Emotionally Intelligent Assertiveness

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 13 Comments on Manage Decisions with the Power of Emotionally Intelligent Assertiveness

Being an effective proponent of ideas is critical to leading and managing projects well.  Advocacy is essential to managing conflict and making decisions.

An assertive, emotionally intelligent, approach to advocacy enables achieving the goals of getting to the right decision – design, plan, agreement – and maintaining healthy relationships that enable people to work and live together happily and effectively.

The theme of my book Managing Conflict in Projects is the ability to reach optimal resolutions and maintain healthy relationships by being an assertive, non-aggressive, advocate, combining analytical clarity, mindful awareness, and emotional intelligence.  

In this article the focus is on achieving the goals of optimal decisions and healthy relationships by being assertive, with an open mind, clear communication and a sense of collaboration rather than enmity, even with the opposition.   

These qualities go beyond project work.  They are basic foundations for effective performance, conscious living, happiness, and stress reduction.

“Be supple mentally.  Strength does not lie in being firm and strong but in being pliable. The pliable tree stands in a gale. Gather the strength of a swift mind.” – J. Krishnamurti”Be supple mentally.  

Must One Be Aggressive to ‘Win’?

However, there is a widespread belief that it takes aggression to get things done.  Is this belief well founded or is it the result of listening to and emulating people who do not know how to use the powers of open mindedness, kindness, and effective communication to find best ways forward?

Does non-aggressive, acceptance get in the way of being effective in leading, managing conflict and effectively promoting one’s ideas?  Does non-aggression and acceptance mean being a doormat for aggressive coworkers, opponents, and partners?  The short answer is NO!

These questions have come up many times in coaching and learning sessions.  Let’s explore to find an optimal way of addressing sensitive issues, disagreements, and decision making.

Aggression and Assertiveness

We begin by defining aggression and assertiveness.  Aggression and assertiveness are often used as synonyms, but when we analyze them, we find important differences.

Aggression brings to mind hostility, violence, opposition, and a readiness to attack.  It is “strong self-assertion with hostile or harmful tones.  … Aggressive behaviors can lead to academic, employment, financial, legal and relationship problems.” 

Assertiveness has a different connotation.  To be assertive “means being able to stand up for your own or other people’s rights in a calm and positive way, without being either aggressive, or passively accepting ‘wrong’.”

Neither aggression nor assertiveness are passive, indifferent, or apathetic.  The difference between them is that unlike aggressiveness, assertiveness is not destructive and threatening.  To be assertive is to be self-confidently forceful without the anger and hostility.  Assertiveness is compatible with empathy, kindness and caring.

So, one can be a successful advocate by being assertive rather than aggressive.  You can care about or at least be cognizant of others and still be a proponent of your ideas and wellbeing.  You can overcome the anger, frustration, jealousy, and fear that trigger aggression.

Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness: Foundation for Assertiveness

This is where emotional intelligence (EI) comes into the picture.  EI is the learnable capacity to apply self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and awareness of one’s motivation. EI enables the ability to cut through the tendency to be driven by emotions into aggression or passivity. 

Mindfulness is the capacity and courage to objectively observe everything, including one’s inner workings.  Mindfulness enables EI. 

See below for references for more on EI and Mindfulness.

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Acceptance

Acceptance is a factor in healthy assertiveness.  Acceptance is the capacity to see and be OK with reality.  In this context, acceptance does not mean favoring or passively living with what is “wrong.”  It means that one is wise to see things objectively as they are, be OK with them, and from the platform of OK-ness move forward to assert and promote change.

For example, one can accept the fact that people have different ideas that oppose yours without either being angry at them or agreeing with them for the sake of peace. Taking it to another level, one can accept that opposing ideas are better or at least as good as yours. Accepting that leads to collaboration to find the optimal solution regardless of its author.

Perceptions

Aggression is perceived by the aggressee.  Sometimes, the aggressor is acting consciously.  Other times a person may think that he or she is acting in a perfectly benign way, while others may experience a sense of fear because they perceive aggression. 

The role of Emotional intelligence becomes clear as we understand that aggression involves the interplay among behaviors, individual perceptions, emotions, cultural norms, intention, and values.  Understanding from the perspective of others enables collaboration and a greater ability to manage aggression.

Here are two examples of how perceived aggression can affect relationships and performance:

  • Bill says to Paula, “You speak so well.”  If Paula is a person of color, she might sense a micro aggression.  Paula might think “Of course I speak well I was well educated, grew up in the suburbs, and have a PhD in English Lit from Yale.”  She might have the sense of being stereotyped by her ethnicity.  And that may bring up psychological and emotional issues.
  • At a design session, Harry says “That’s a dumb idea and here’s why.” and then goes on a critique, identifying all the flaws in Jim’s concept. Harry’s demeanor, his vibe, is strongly competitive.  There is an underlying sense of anger.  Harry doesn’t perceive himself as being aggressive.  He is just advocating for his idea in the way he has always advocated.  “That’s the way I am.” he thinks and says.  His behavior may trigger any number of reactions and responses.  Those that know him and recognize his knowledge and critical ability, might be thinking, there he goes again.  Once he’s done, we will have all the negatives and we can explore the positive side. Others might react differently depending on their emotional intelligence.

Action

The bottom line is that it is skillful to be assertive rather than aggressive.  Take the anger that drives aggression and transmute it into analytical clarity.  Use the clarity to assert what is “right.” Couple that with a motivation to find the optimal way forward, with healthy relationships.

The action steps are:

  • Cultivate mindful awareness.
  • Intend to be responsive rather than reactive.
  • Observe your behavior and feelings. 
  • Note anger, fear, insecurity, and all the other emotions.
  • See yourself and your ideas objectively, as if they weren’t yours.
  • Experience the presence of empathetic co-operation – the natural capacity for people to work together.
  • Act.

References:

Here are a few resources for those wanting to explore further.

Books
Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel GolemanEmotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman
Managing Conflict in Projects: Applying Mindfulness and Analysis for Optimal Results, by George Pitagorsky PMI Publishing 2012,
Articles
Making Effective Decisions: What is the Truth and How Important is it?
Conflict Management – Trading Anger for Understanding
Ready For Anything – Mindfully Aware
The Practical Side of Empathy – A Critical PM Success Factor
“What Makes A Leader” by Daniel Goleman, best of Harvard Business Review 1998
Videos
Mindfulness Meditation Practice
Short video tutorials on what mindfulness meditation is and how to do it

Importance of Thought Leadership for Organizations

Written by Ishita Singh on . Posted in Articles. 12 Comments on Importance of Thought Leadership for Organizations

The business world continues to change and disrupt. We the individuals, are the key that connects strategy to implementation.

While organizations refer to this initiative by varied names, essentially, it’s how the change happens, and the work gets done.

Providing thought leadership is an opportunity for an organization to elevate the current position within an industry and manifest the competencies and reliability to demonstrate the experience, engage the voices and furnish real value to the customers. Thought Leadership is not only a mindset but also a competency that keeps organizations focused.

Suppose you are driving from New-York to Los-Angeles, you cannot see the whole journey, but you tackle it as you go- fold by fold. A Customer journeys is almost same! The purpose of providing thought leadership to your customer goes beyond brand awareness. The objective is to institute a richer and more relevant connections with the customer. The thought leadership should challenge, motivate and interest every individual, both inside and outside the organization.

Offering thought leadership as a part of services is like playing a game of charades- act it out, don’t say it out! Organizations objective should be to help the customer and that’s why it’s paramount to prove one’s authenticity as a thought leader in the chosen field. Thought leadership is an ability of an organization to influence an industry, they challenge the status-quo and ignite the strong drifts that others follow.

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Thought leaders provide a unique role in offering acumen on a specific topics, issues, or trends and prove themselves to be a go-to resource. The organization with a successful thought leadership strategy attains business goals and makes it a core of the communication plan.

With thought leaders in action, the customers establish a trusting relationship the organization, look up to them as advisors that understands the problems at hand and knows how to resolve them. The end result, both the customer and the organization achieve more than bargained for. And hence, it’s more important now than ever for the organizations to be viewed as an industry leader and trusted partners.

So, the big question is can organizations create Thought Leaders?

To answer that question, lets understand what a thought leader is- it’s an individual whose vision on a subject are commanding and prominent. Said that, someone within the organization who can guide the business to higher success owning to the one’s clarity and decisiveness.

For organizations to create Thought leaders is not impossible, need to tap on the talent, experience and passion of an individual and help them enhance few skills like, becoming a coach and mentoring teams internally and eventually providing those enablers to customers.

 PM Dec22 20 1

Alas! thought leadership is not easy to quantify and has no metrics to measure the effects, also investing in reputation building may not generate the same results in short-term. Nonetheless, harnessing thought leadership can produce significant long-term payoffs and scale the brand.

Performance Improvement Needs Candid Assessment

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 9 Comments on Performance Improvement Needs Candid Assessment

To improve future performance, it is necessary to candidly assess past performance.  That means overcoming resistance to criticism and learning to give it in a constructive way.

The Case Of The Lost Review

Once I was called in to facilitate a performance improvement process at a successful high-tech company.  

When looking for artifacts from past projects, I discovered that the group held a post project review for a large recent project but that there were neither notes nor report.  My contact told me that the event had been video recorded but that the recording was “lost.”

Upon further exploration I discovered that the review process was so divisive and inconclusive that management decided to just move on and focus on the future.   

When we planned the kick-off event for the improvement program, we decided to use the controversial project as a case in point. 

Goal

The goal for the improvement program was sustainable optimal performance based on establishing a continuously improving learning culture.  

To achieve the goal, we would address the foundation for successful process improvement:

  • open-minded objectivity
  • responsive vs. reactive behavior
  • effective communication
  • mindful awareness.

From that foundation, we would then explore how to approach performance improvement using techniques and concepts like goal setting, cause and effect analysis, performance measurement and review, conflict management and decision making, managing change, and methodology. 

Overcoming Obstacles

A crucial step in creating a continuously improving culture is the recognition and overcoming of obstacles, particularly the attitudes and habits that get in the way of candid performance assessment.

To achieve continuous improvement, it stakeholders must explore their own mental models, beliefs and biases.  Peter Senge advises us to turn “the mirror inward, learning to unearth our internal pictures of the world, to bring them to the surface and hold them rigorously to scrutiny.  to “… carry on ‘learningful’ conversations that balance inquiry and advocacy, where people expose their own thinking effectively and make that thinking open to the influence of others.”(Senge, P. (1994) The Fifth Discipline, p 9)

Too many improvement programs focus in on concrete techniques like measurement and review without addressing the more systemic interpersonal issues that are at the heart of the collaboration that fuels the program.  

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Performance Assessment

When we look at performance assessment, we recognize that it serves all stakeholders and the organization as a whole.  The stakeholders are performers, managers, executives, clients, and anyone else effected by the performance results.  

While many of the stakeholders will not be present at a specific review session, it is important to consider their input and perspective.  Keep in mind the intention to serve the stakeholders with quality performance by reflecting on past performance, learning from it, and applying the lessons learned.  

Assessment is important and necessary.  The challenge is to find the right balance between objectivity and subjectivity in assessing capability to perform and then to improve future performance.  

Objectivity begins with demonstrated performance, though we must recognize that there are always subjective perspectives at work.  One person’s sense of what is or isn’t effective performance can be quite different from another’s.  

To minimize the subjectivity there is need for clear mutually agreed upon criteria.  What are the attributes of effective performance and what are each attribute’s weights?  For example, when it comes to an individual, is truthfulness and the ability to own up to and learn from mistakes an important attribute?  Is it more or less important than technical skill?  

When assessing a team’s performance on a project, what are the critical measures of effective performance?   Are they limited to timeliness and budget compliance or do they include criteria like the satisfaction of stakeholders about relationships and the usefulness of the results over time?  How do the criteria enable an assessment of the probability of performing a similar or more complex assignment in the future?

Coming up with the criteria is a process that goes well beyond adopting an off the shelf model, though models and the tools that go along with them are useful starting points.  it is important to involve key stakeholders, particularly the people whose work will be assessed, in the decision process.  

The process of developing or fine tuning the assessment criteria is a means for gaining support, exposing biases, and for learning about assessment and its role in improvement.  Without the buy-in of the performers and their understanding of the dynamics at work in assessment, effective reviews are less likely.

Dynamics 

While concrete measurement and criteria are desirable, addressing the dynamics at work is critical.  These dynamics have two dimensions – organizational and personal.

On the organizational side, is there more than lip service to values like objectivity and confronting dysfunction while not punishing those who have performed poorly?  What is the organization’s tolerance for slow learners and marginal performers?  How does management at all levels act?  is it in sync with or at odds with stated values?  

An organization that has the goal of establishing a continuously improving learning culture, must avoid punitive behavior and be willing to confront performance dysfunction in the face of internal politics.  How does one improve performance and fairly and effectively manage the incompetent and those who do not fit in with the organization’s culture?

The personal dynamics center on the degree to which people seek to avoid critical performance evaluation, where performance includes decision making and the quality of relationships.  How does one adequately assess competence/capability when giving and receiving negative feedback is avoided by many for fear of repercussions? 

Address the often deeply embedded resistance to criticism.  This resistance is not easily overcome.  It takes more than policy statements, procedures and guidelines to cut through it.

It takes 

  • Commitment and example form the highest levels of the organization
  • Mindfulness and emotional intelligence to be aware of and not driven by emotions like fear of punishment and anger
  • Valuing and opening to criticism from others – making one’s thinking open to input from others; recognizing that through criticism there can be improvement

Being able to give criticism honestly and respectfully.

Making Effective Decisions: What is the Truth and How Important is it?

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 17 Comments on Making Effective Decisions: What is the Truth and How Important is it?

Effective decisions are central to project success.

Making effective decisions relies on the ability to manage conflicts among the decision makers and to weave together objective facts (truth) with opinions, analysis, risk assessment, and feelings.

There is nothing new about lying, manipulating the truth, and/or using rhetoric to influence decisions while ignoring objectivity and analysis. There is also nothing new about people buying into a “truth” because it reflects what they want the truth to be.

Many people seeking profits, safety, certainty and security will get behind anyone who promises to deliver these, even when they know deep down that they are being lied to. For these, truth is confused with wishful thinking rather than an objective assessment of facts and other factors.

Case Example

While there are many newsworthy examples of blatant lies and hiding or misrepresenting facts, we will consider the ones that directly impact projects. Let’s look at an example.

In a process improvement project, the project’s costs and risks were significantly under stated. Senior management was provided with a highly detailed project description with functional specifications and plans, along with a simplified executive overview including high-level estimates. The executives wanted the project to succeed and were quick to sign off – probably without reading the detailed document and relying on the word of the project’s proponents.

The project’s proponents may not have purposely lied. They may have been influenced by their desire to make long needed process changes and by unconscious optimism or other biases. The project team and some functional managers grumbled, but no one paid attention to them. Risk analysis was getting in the way of approval, so risks were downplayed. Then, later during the project, problems, lateness, and overspending management softened the truth to spare key stakeholders from stress.

The result was a late and over budget project that delivered positive results that more than paid for the overrun. The project could have just as easily been a failure.

Why Truth

So, we have misrepresentation and, maybe, even straight-up lying; sometimes purposefully to sway decisions, sometimes out of fear of telling the truth, sometimes because the project control process is broken with inaccurate or inadequate data and reporting.

In our process improvement scenario, even though the project was late and over budget, the benefits outweighed the costs. One could argue that the misrepresentation of estimated costs and risks was justifiable – the ends justified the means. Project proponents thought “the bureaucrats and bean counters would never have authorized this needed project. We had to build an case they couldn’t turn down.”

The absence of truth telling is destructive, even when things turn out well. In the long term the organization and its inhabitants suffer. The absence of truth promotes subjective decision making based on special interests, bias, and power.

Executives are both robbed of their prerogative to make well informed decisions and cannot be held accountable for poor decisions. Performance is unlikely to be accurately measured and therefore less able to be improved. Because of schedule overruns other efforts’ schedules are impacted. Budget overruns can lead to other projects being cancelled for lack of funds. People are unnecessarily stressed and spend much time and energy covering things up. Paranoia, distrust, confusion, conflicts of interest, and increased uncertainty become characteristics of the culture.

Performance Improvement

Truth is the foundation for performance improvement and trust. Relying on truth, as supported by facts, data and objective analysis, leads to a self-improving culture.

Science relies on truth and scientists rely on peer review to keep one another honest. When we take a scientific approach to performance management, we get a self-correcting system. The truth comes out (if people are interested enough to check). When data indicates that performance is not in-sync with the plans and promises that set things in motion, causes of short-falls can be identified and addressed. Then, the process can be improved.

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How To Know What is True

The dictionary says “truth is the property of being in accord with reality.” We will stay away from philosophical and religious Truths like the way the universe was created or whether people have free will. Project managers are interested in truths that effect performance on a practical level and that they can verify as being in accord with reality through objective analysis based on data.

In some cases, checking the facts and realizing that alternative facts are lies, will uncover the truth. For example, the financial cost of a project can be objectively determined through proper accounting, as can number of people attending an event, dying from a disease, making an error, or using a product.

However, it is not always that easy. The numbers may not be available. Estimates are predictions based on assumptions or beliefs. They are subject to uncertainty. Decisions about methodologies are important but easily subject to unfounded assumptions and beliefs. For example

  • Is it true that an agile approach to project management is better than a waterfall approach? It might be. But is it always better? Probably not.
  • Is it true that the decision-making executives in our example above would not have decided to go ahead with the project unless they were duped? Maybe, but we’ll never know.
  • Were the project’s proponents justified in influencing the decision by hiding risks and underestimating?

To know the truth look at the evidence, assess the data, the facts – and make sure they are accurate. Distinguish between facts, opinions, assumptions, and beliefs. And, take multiple perspectives.

Multiple Perspectives

We cannot rely solely on the facts to make decisions. Meaningful decisions rely on a combination of factors. The facts are a foundation but there is a need to take multiple perspectives to build the case for an effective decision. Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats model is a methodology for making well informed decisions and avoiding bias. It recommends taking six perspectives:

  • Facts – data, evidence, probabilities,
  • Positivity – optimism. value, benefit
  • Judgement – criticism, risks
  • Feelings – hunches, intuition, emotions
  • Creativity – ideas, alternatives, possibilities, thinking outside of the box
  • Process – managing the thinking and decision-making process, analysis and syntheisis

Taking these multiple perspectives is more likely to lead to an effective decision, particularly, when multiple competent players are collaborating in an open and well managed process in which there is clarity about fact, opinion, bias, truth and lie. One can “speak one’s truth” while acknowledging that it may be an opinion and/or influenced by biases.

Project success is achieved because hundreds of effective decisions are made. The more those decisions are based on a realistic, fact based analysis, the better.