
The pros and cons of catering
Most of us ‘cater’ to others in certain social and work situations. But is this effective leadership behavior? Jennifer Jordan lays out the pros and cons of catering. ...
by Sameh Abadir Published 25 October 2023 in Brain Circuits • 2 min read
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.
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.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD
Sameh Abadir is Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD. He advises companies on negotiations and runs negotiation workshops in English, French and Arabic. He has recently directed custom programs for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Jerónimo Martins, ArcelorMittal, and Merck, and he is Director of IMD’s Crisis Management online program. He was Co-Director of IMD’s signature program Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) and is Co-Director of IMD’s Negotiating for Value Creation (NVC) open programs, and of the Leading Under Pressure program.
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