Decisiveness

This document contains stories of people being decisive and of failing to be decisive. (The titles next to people’s names are their titles at the time the story occurred and may not be their title currently.) Discussing diverse situations in which people failed or succeeded to live up to their values often helps people to recognize and act on other opportunities when they arise. By discussing these stories in meetings, on teams, over internet or intranet forums, or in classrooms, groups can come up with ideas for leading with exceptional decisiveness, learn each other’s perspectives, work through disagreements, and generate ideas.  The teaching note is included.

The “Thinking It Through” tool is designed to provide guidance and practice for being intentional while making decisions. “Thinking things through,” or critical thinking is a learned skill. We can get better at it the more we practice it and the more we engage with others in the process. This tool requires users to slow down and employ a step-by-step methodology as a process for developing this skill. The tool is based on the Elements of Thought from the Foundation for Critical Thinking. It can be used in professional settings and instructional settings, to help an individual or a group explicitly think through a decision, choice, or problem.  To request the teaching note, please email:  CPL@louisville.edu.

Dr. Patty Payette teaches how to engage your team in a deliberate decision-making process that facilitates shared ownership of problems and solutions, including an overview of her tool, Thinking Through Your Decision Worksheet, to assist leaders and teams to jumpstart the process of thinking through a problem, choice, or issue and come to a decision or conclusion in which issues at hand are articulated, assumptions are made visible, and relevant points of view are considered.