A quick self-test to remind you to slow down your decision-making 

“Be slow to judge,” the old adage warns. Managing in crisis requires you to slow down and stay calm. This is an exercise to see if you are too quick to make decisions.

A manager must make hundreds of decisions that affect their team’s productivity, well-being and overall success. But it is important to remember that, even if you have a history of making good decisions, in times of crisis you need to slow down and make sure you are operating in a calm manner to ensure you don’t make the wrong ones. Because when you most need to get things right, you also need to take your time to get there. 

The exercise

Here is a quick exercise to help you test yourself. Set a timer for 10 seconds, and then consider this problem: 

A pickleball paddle and a ball cost €1.10. The paddle costs €1 more than the ball. How much is the ball? 

What did you answer? 

Many people (even those who are good at math) automatically answer 10 cents. But the correct answer is 5 cents, because you must remember to add the two costs together: €1.05 + .05 = €1.10. 

This is a classic example of people’s “fast” brain taking over. We all have a fast brain and a slow brain, and it is important as a leader to train your fast brain to stay under control. In times of stress, it is common for the fast brain to take over and the result is making bad decisions. 

One of our biggest biases as humans is overconfidence. When you are overconfident in your knowledge, that too can lead to poor decision-making, so you must seek out additional information and evaluate it carefully, even in times of stress.