The Modern Manager

You might say that a manager’s central job is to help their team members become their best selves. When we help our colleagues live up to their potential and optimize their strengths, we can achieve the magic combination of high performance and satisfaction.   Today’s guest is David Hassell. David is a serial entrepreneur, business columnist, and speaker, who believes that when leaders support their employees in becoming their best selves, high engagement, performance and uncommon loyalty naturally result. As co-founder and CEO of 15Five, David and his team have developed industry-leading performance management software that helps leaders and managers drive high performance and build phenomenal cultures via a suite of features including weekly check-ins, OKR tracking, 1-on-1s, and peer appreciation. While at 15Five, David created the science-inspired Best-Self Management methodology that helps leaders and managers address the hidden factors that stimulate sustainable growth and development – things like intrinsic motivation, growth mindset, strengths, positivity, and psychological safety in the workplace.   David and I talk about the ideas behind the best self methodology. We get into behaviors, mindsets and models that can help you be the kind of manager you wish you’d had.   Get the 50% off 15Five’s Best-Self Management program when you become a member of the Modern Manager community at themodernmanager.com/join. Plus, take advantage of the holiday Buy One - Get One holiday special. Get one month of free membership to give to the person of your choice when you become a member before December 31, 2020.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Read the related blog article: How To Help Your Employees Become Their Best Selves   Key Takeaways: Managers can help employees become their best selves by combining psychological safety with the growth mindset.  To create a healthy environment of trust and psychological safety, employees need to feel like they can speak openly without negative repercussions.  Move from the Victim/Villain/Hero Triangle mindset into a space of curiosity called the Coach/Creator Mode by entering a conversation with curiosity about the problem rather than a fixed opinion.  Ask yourself: “Am I Above The Line (curious and open) or Below The Line (fixed and blaming)? Employees will react defensively if you go into situations with a rigid perspective. Seeing “The White Space” means seeing an employee’s strengths and the potential for who they could be. A manager who believes deeply in an employee’s abilities despite their struggles can transform someone blocked by self-doubts. Focus on developing your staff’s strengths rather than improving weaknesses. Find where their natural talents and passions overlap - called the Zone of Genius - to create fulfilled, productive teams.  Be wary of falling into the trap of the Zone of Excellence, in which the person is good/skilled at the activities but it’s not their passion.  Embrace your own imperfections as someone on the same growth journey. Admit your own vulnerability and show your team that you are also journeying together with them to become your best selves.  Growth mindset only works when combined with an environment of psychological safety. Focusing only on growth can leave employees feeling burdened by “never being good enough.” They need to know that they can share their struggles and you’ll be there to listen.   Resources: https://conscious.is/resources   KEEP UP WITH DAVID Website: 15Five.com Twitter: @dhassell Podcast: Best-Self Management podcast - 15Five.com/podcast Best-Self Management program: https://academy.15five.com/bundles/from-manager-to-leader   mamie@mamieks.com

Emotions are useful information if only we know how to understand and navigate them. When we take the time to become ‘emotion scientists’ and explore what it really is that we, or our colleagues, are feeling, we open doors to stronger relationships, better decisions, and healthier lives.    This week, I share what I learned from the book Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett. I cover the RULER process, the Mood Meter and other techniques to making the most of your, and others’, emotions.   The full episode guide includes an overview of the RULER process, questions for reflection and suggested actions. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at themodernmanager.com/shop. If you join before December 31, 2020, get one month of membership at the same level to give to the person of your choosing.     Get the free mini-guide at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides.   Read the related blog article: Five Steps to Effectively Dealing With Emotions   Key Takeaways: Americans have not developed the skills to effectively understand and manage their own or others’ emotions.  Humans are notoriously bad at accurately interpreting others’ behavior. Instead, we make assumptions about the emotions and causes.  RULER is an approach to help you understand emotions and follow a process to explore and manage them. R: Recognize - acknowledge the current emotional state. It start with noticing what the predominant feeling is based on energy and pleasantness. The mood meter is a tool that helps people identify their emotional state based on energy level and pleasantness. There are 4 quadrants: Yellow = high energy, high pleasantness; Green = low energy, high pleasantness; Red = high energy, low pleasantness; Blue = low energy, low pleasantness. U: Understand - once you have a general sense of what you’re feeling, you can explore why you feel that way. What is the root cause? What past experiences are influencing your current feelings? L: Label - It’s important to find the right language to describe your emotions. The mood meter can help you and others determine the most precise feelings. Stress is often a catch-all for multiple different emotions. By differentiating between the true emotion such as pressure, anxiety, or overwhelm, can help you more effectively deal with that emotion. Each emotional state has different causes and remedies. You can’t effectively respond to someone else’s emotions if you don’t know what they’re specifically feeling and why. E: Express - How we show emotion is important. Most people don’t feel comfortable showing emotion, especially at work. A more healthy practice is to find healthy ways to communicate what we’re feeling so that others can empathize and respond appropriately.  R: Regulate - We experience emotions constantly. People skilled at emotion management know how to regulate their emotional system and use emotions productively. Regulation skills range broadly from avoidance to breathing deeply, so it’s important to discover what works for you. Additional Resources: Book: Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett mamie@mamieks.com

Working with family or close friends might seem like a recipe for disaster. But, when approached with clarity and open communications, it can be a highly rewarding experience for everyone. Today’s guest is Chris Prefontaine. Chris is the founder of Smart Real Estate Coach, host of the Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast and best selling author of 2017’s Real Estate on Your Terms and this year’s The New Rules of Real Estate Investing. He operates his family business with his son, Nick, his daughter, Kayla, his son-in-law, Zach, and an amazing team. Chris and I talk about the complexities of working with family or close friends, how to create a culture that feels like family at work, what to consider if you’re thinking of starting a business or hiring a friend or family member and more. This was a particularly fun episode because as you’ll hear, I’m also part of a family business, and, given that last week’s interview with Dave Schramm was about the connection between family and workplace culture, it seemed appropriate that this conversation should follow that one. Members of The Modern Manager community get the guide to working with friends and family. Non-members can purchase the guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join - become a member before December 31, 2020 and get 1 month free to give to the person of your choosing.  Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: How to Create A Healthy Work Culture in a Family Business Key Takeaways: If you have both related and unrelated employees on your team, create a work culture that makes everyone feel like they’re family.  Establish a company mission and core values. Use them to guide your decisions instead of basing them on biases or gut reactions.  Hire for mission and values fit, rather than on a person’s relationship to you. This will ensure a level playing field for your employees regardless of their relationship to you. To encourage a healthy culture based on your values, decide as a team what behaviors you want to see. Publicly recognize when anyone sees an employee exemplifying that behavior.  Establish clear, constant communication by using Morning Pow-Wow team meetings to bring everyone on the same page, collectively work through solutions, and enhance efficiency and productivity.  Make clear boundaries between your work and home life. Don’t bring negativity or challenges from work into your home / personal conversations.  Some benefits to managing a family business are (1) deeper pre-existing trust of the person, (2) the ability to set up generational wealth, and (3) the chance to invest in your family by giving them opportunities to try new things and watch them grow.  KEEP UP WITH CHRIS    Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast: www.smartrealestatecoachpodcast.com Free Webinar: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/webinar/ Website: http://www.smartrealestatecoach.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartrealestatecoach Google +: https://plus.google.com/+Smartrealestatecoachchannel Podcast: https://www.smartrealestatecoachpodcast.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/smartrealestatecoach   Free strategy call: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/action Free book: www.freesrecbook.com https://www.smartrealestatecoach.com/thriving - it's a chapter in the Newly Revised Real Estate On Your Terms for free   mamie@mamieks.com

We often refer to close knit or strong company cultures as families. In fact, research shows that lessons from effective family relationships can help us build healthier workplace relationships.  Today’s guest is Dave Schramm. Known as “Dr. Dave” on campus and across the country, Dave is a professor and family life extension specialist at Utah State University in the department of Human Development and Family Studies. He studies strong couple and family relationships, and translates his family findings into leadership lessons and improving work cultures. Dave and I talk about the three needs of all humans, how those needs show up at work, the connection between family and a positive workplace experience, how managers can apply lessons of healthy family dynamics to their team, positivity, natural consequences and so much more. Members of The Modern Manager community get Dave’s list of 50 Ideas for an Incredible Workplace which he created by gathering data from the top 346 best places to work. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join - become a member before December 31, 2020 and get 1 month free to give to the person of your choosing.  Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: Lessons From Family Life That Strengthen Workplace Culture Check out the bonus series Parenting Your Business where I talk about the lessons I’ve translated from parenting into managing.  PYB 1: Pick Out The Raisins: https://www.themodernmanager.com/episodes/episode/be91d944/pyb-1-pick-out-the-raisins PYB 2: Banned From The Boat: https://www.themodernmanager.com/episodes/episode/b738b10e/pyb-2-banned-from-the-boat PYB 3: Halloween Costume Confusion: https://www.themodernmanager.com/episodes/episode/19af9191/pyb-3-halloween-costume-confusion PYB 4: This Way!: https://www.themodernmanager.com/episodes/episode/e9c23001/pyb-4-this-way PYB 5: What Happens When You Die?: https://www.themodernmanager.com/episodes/episode/212678f0/pyb-5-what-happens-when-you-die   Key Takeaways: There are three fundamental needs humans have in life that show up in both family and work: safety, satisfaction, and connection. Safety includes both physical and emotional safety. Physical safety may be a large enough paycheck to pay the bills, while emotional safety involves feeling comfortable enough to speak out without fear of retribution.  A foundation of trust is essential for safety. Ask your employees directly what would give them more of a sense of support, including what they see as meaningful benefits and perks.  Research shows employees become more loyal when they experience kindness from their manager or leader. All of us are born with a desire to move towards rewards. At work, that translates into professional development opportunities to stretch our talents and move forward.  In the best workplaces, employees have a deep sense that they belong, that they are part of and attached to one other.  According to the Connection/Direction/Correction Pyramid, managers must first build Connection (invest in relationship), then they can give more effective Direction (guidance along with greater autonomy), and that enables the team member to positively intake Correction (constructive feedback).  Connection is created by gratitude and care. When people feel recognized for the work they do, they are 23% more effective. When employees feel valued and cared for, their productivity increases 43%. To help employees feel cared for, connect with them on a personal level by finding out about their lives and enjoy celebrations together. Focus on the positive rather than harping on the negative. When things go wrong, forgive mistakes swiftly and ask your employees what went wrong and what they could do differently in the future. Praise in public, correct in private. No one wants to be embarrassed or mocked. In order to ensure emotional safety, discuss problems in private. But make sure to collect all of the information beforehand rather than just reacting. Ask your employees what they thought went wrong and what they could do better next time.  Discuss with your employees beforehand what consequences they would suggest if they make a mistake or drop the ball on a project. People support what they create.  KEEP UP WITH DAVE   Website: www.LifeJourneyOn.com TEDx Talk:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmz7z4hyM9E  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdaveschramm/ www.DrDaveSpeaks.com   mamie@mamieks.com

When most people think about gender in the workplace, they think about women. But men’s roles and expectations of behavior are quickly shifting, leaving some men confused or frustrated. Instead of focusing on the impact of gender on women, let’s consider preconceived notions about masculinity. When we open the conversation to include men, we create space for them to evolve into better leaders, managers and colleagues. Today’s guest is Neal Conlon. Neal is a conscious and mission driven Marine veteran with a goal to empower 1000 men to empower 1000 men. He’s coaches, consults, and conspires. Neal and I talk about the changing role and perception of men and masculinity. We get into how men show up in the workplace, how they can start to find their place in the new reality of #MeToo and 3rd wave Feminism, and how we can help shift unhealthy male stereotypes so everyone wins.  Members of The Modern Manager community are eligible to win a free 1 hour coaching call to fast track results, habits, and values and beliefs. This is for entrepreneurs, business owners, veterans in transition, and men or women who feel overwhelmed in 2020. You must be a member by December 1, 2020.  To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: What Men Need In Today’s Modern Workplace Key Takeaways: Think of “femininity” (nurturing, energetic, open) and “masculinity” (pragmatism, safety, security) as natural inclinations towards behavior rather than sexual orientation or biology.  Every person contains both aspects of femininity and masculinity inside of them, but life circumstances and individual choices cultivate what we express. The Blueprint for much of civilization gave men and women distinct roles and expectations. As society’s expectations and opportunities for women shifted, the Blueprint crumbled. This caused men to lose their place of privilege, security, and power, resulting in many men experiencing a sense of confusion and loss.  The workplace has experienced major shifts as women have increasingly taken on higher ranking positions and movements like #MeToo have exposed inappropriate male behavior. This has left men (1) unsure of what is acceptable, (2) seeking to become feminist allies, (3) holding onto the past, and (4) everything in between. There are many things men can do to adjust to a healthier, integrated self, including maintaining a mindful practice of examining different expectations for men and women, attending masculinity events to explore unhealthy attitudes, and being conscious of not overshadowing women’s voices. Managers have the power to commit to inclusivity by maintaining a diverse team which includes supporting men to find their place in the changing environment.  If a man is struggling to understand why or how his behavior needs to change, talk with him. Rather than silencing men at meetings, managers can discuss with men why their behavior may be affecting their female colleagues, and how they can adjust accordingly.  KEEP UP WITH NEAL Website: www.nealconlon.com Instagram: @iamnealconlon mamie@mamieks.com

It can feel almost impossible to plan for the future when we’re unsure how next week will be, let alone a year from now. Yet, our organizations and teams need to continue charging ahead, making progress toward future goals. How can we create useful plans during times of uncertainty?  In this episode, I talk through various strategies to support team and individual planning during times of great uncertainty. Whether you’ve already set annual goals or are just embarking on your goal-setting process, these strategies can help you and your team stay aligned as the world continues to change. The full episode guide includes an overview of the planning approaches, questions for reflections and suggested actions. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.     Get the free mini-guide at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides. Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.    Looking for a keynote speaker? I can adapt almost any solo podcast episode into a keynote or workshop. Be in touch at mamie@mamieks.com   Read the related blog article: 3 Approaches to Planning During Uncertainty   Key Takeaways: Planning 1 year goals isn’t necessarily the optimal timeline even when we aren’t experiencing lots of uncertainty.When we plan 1 year out, we are making educated guesses because the farther out we plan, the less accurate we are. Create scenarios and be explicit about the assumptions that underlie each scenario.  Look for activities and goals that remain consistent across the scenarios. Identify early indicators and establish check-ins to remind you to assess whether your assumptions still stand. Set minimum, target and optimal goals to allow for flexibility that accommodates the uncertainty. Regularly communicate with your team to stay aligned as things change.  Try not to be wedded to any particular goal, strategy, or scenario. Accept that no one is performing their best right now. Flexibility and adaptability is a critical skill during uncertainty. If you’re experiencing uncertainty in your daily life, prioritize your own actions or tasks so you spend your limited time on the most important items.  Schedule times for your highest priority items to help you stay focused on those tasks, even if your schedule ends up changing.  Additional Resources: Book: The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington episode 112: How to Use the Three Types of Goals mamie@mamieks.com

Many high performers have developed strategies that enable them to consistently work productively and effectively. We can all learn from these habits, tactics and approaches in order to enhance our own performance. Today’s guest is Siimon Reynolds. Siimon is a leading expert on high performance, in business and life, with more than 50 awards for excellence to his name, and a 30-year career owning and running numerous successful companies. He now mentors entrepreneurs and CEOs from all over the world and has coached more than 1000 high achievers, including leading celebrities, centi-millionaires, and billionaires! Siimon and I walk through a number of the tips and tricks he suggests in his book Win Fast: Quick Ways to Achieve More, Earn More, and Be More.  Members of The Modern Manager community get 20% off coaching with Siimon. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: How To Achieve More In Less Time Key Takeaways: Rush your unimportant tasks. If we can handle doing a mediocre job on the tasks that aren’t that important, we can spend more of our time on the ones that matter most.  The 80:20 Rule of Consequence teaches that twenty percent of what you do gives you eighty percent of your results. Twenty percent of that twenty percent - or four percent of what you do - gives you sixty four percent of your results, which is the 64:4 rule. If we are hyper-focused on spending the majority of our time on the most important things, we yield the greatest results.  Talk with your team about the 80:20 philosophy. Encourage them to work quickly on the 80% of tasks that aren’t top priority. Reinforce that ‘good enough’ is all you’re looking for on these tasks. Individually meet with team members to communicate clearly what you believe their top goals are so that you are aligned with what they should focus on. Encourage them to write down the goal and post it where they can look at it daily. Look at your goals three times per day to remind your brain what to prioritize.  Develop a Zen sense or urgency where you feel enough pressure to move forward but not so much that it becomes stressful.  Understand what you can control and what you can’t. Draw two circles on a piece of paper. In one, write down everything outside of your control, and in the other, write everything you can control. Post this in your office to remind yourself of what actions you can take next and where to focus your energy.  One of the most underestimated techniques for making an impact on someone is a personal thank you note. It's a beautiful and powerful technique for getting ahead and getting people to appreciate you. KEEP UP WITH SIIMON Website: https://siimonreynolds.com/ Book: Win Fast: Quick Ways to Achieve More, Earn More, and Be More.  mamie@mamieks.com

As managers, we’d do well to remember that we succeed when our people succeed. It’s not always easy to know how we need to adjust our behavior - by stepping in or getting out of the way - but when you get it right, your people can truly flourish and accomplish great things. Today’s guest is John Eades. John is the CEO of LearnLoft, Author of Building the Best, and host of the Follow My Lead Podcast. John and I talk about how to connect purpose to your work, no matter what industry or function you work in, how to support your team members through their role development by providing the right support style at the right times, how to get past your own fears so your teammates can really flourish and when to let go because you can’t make someone else succeed if they don’t want to.  Members of The Modern Manager community get access to Learn Loft’s Leadership Styles quiz that will help you better understand your style and their Mastering the Mighty Skills toolkit so you can elevate your leadership. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: Three Steps To Creating An Empowered Team Key Takeaways: People persevere because of purpose, not pay. When you connect your team to a cause, you breathe life into them. Look for creative ways to show your team the impact or results they are contributing to. When possible, make it about the customers not just the business. Leadership is someone whose actions inspire, empower, and serve others. One of the biggest mistakes managers make is thinking they can just hire great people and get out of the way. We all need somebody else to challenge us in order to go beyond what we think we're capable of. There are four stages of development for an employee in a given role. It’s important to establish where each person is on their development journey so you can match their autonomy and responsibility with their readiness. If you give too much autonomy or responsibility too soon, you risk the person failing or being overwhelmed. If you wait too long, you risk the person losing confidence or becoming bored. What you tolerate, you encourage. If your people are struggling, consider how your actions or inactions are impacting their ability to succeed. Managers need to detach themselves from the outcome. You can do everything to inspire and develop your team, but at the end of the day, they choose how much they want to try. According to the 80-10-10 principle, about 10% of your workers will be low performers, 80% are in the middle, and 10% are top performers. Young managers tend to focus on the bottom 10%. Instead, invest in helping the middle 80% get to the top.  KEEP UP WITH JOHN Website: https://learnloft.com/ Book: https://learnloft.com/building-the-best-book/ Podcast: https://learnloft.com/podcast/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johngeades/ mamie@mamieks.com

Inevitably you will experience moments of conflict among a team. Although most people are conflict avoidant, productive conflict enables a team to find new solutions and build stronger relationships. Learning to navigate conflict is a critical skill for every manager. In this episode, I speak with Susan Clarke, co-founder with her partner CrisMarie Campbell of thrive! Inc. and authors of The Beauty of Conflict: Harnessing Your Team’s Competitive Advantage and The Beauty of Conflict for Couples. Together they host The Beauty of Conflict podcast for dealing with conflict at work and at home. CrisMarie is an Olympic rower and Susan is a former marriage therapist and Equus coach. As partners in work and life for over two decades, they’ve adapted their proven step-by-step process honed working with Fortune 100 Companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, AT&T and San Francisco Giants to help long-term couples use conflict as a catalyst to greater intimacy, passion, and fulfillment. Chrismarie wasn’t able to join us, so I talked with Susan about being conflict avoidant, the difference between conflict and a fight, the role of emotion and vulnerability when dealing with conflict, how to confront conflict in a productive way and more. Warning: there are a few spots where Susan uses a curse word, so if you’ve got sensitive ears around, you may want to wait to listen to this another time.  Members of The Modern Manager community get Susan and CrisMarie’s How to Have Tough Conversations Workbook. To learn more about membership and to join, go to www.themodernmanager.com/join Subscribe to the Modern Manager newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox. Read the related blog article: Embrace Constructive Conflict In The Workplace   Key Takeaways: A fight is different from a conflict. A fight is a one-sided attempt to win an argument. A conflict is a collaborative discussion that looks at all points of view in order to come up with a collective solution. In order to engage in conflict, both parties need to let go of being right and open up to the possibility of new ways of seeing.  Conflicts force us to be in a place of ambiguity and uncertainty which often feels scary and stressful.  It’s normal to experience an “Oh, Sh*t!” moments when you’re not sure if the group is actually going to come to a resolution. When you’re feeling emotionally charged, reground yourself by focusing on calm breathing and feeling your feet on the floor.  Recognize the cues when your body and mind are starting to go into stress-mode.  The faster you can recognize your signals, the quicker you can work to bring yourself down from a place of stress. Managers can change the power dynamics in group discussions by admitting to mistakes, and opening up to new solutions.  Don’t dismiss conflict between colleagues as something they have to figure out on their own. Arrange for a group discussion (for the three of you or with the whole team) to allow for others to help facilitate and add additional perspectives.  Avoid meeting one-on-one to discuss employees’ grievances separately. One-on-one meetings are inefficient, burn managers out, and don’t give employees the opportunity to come together to resolve their issues.    KEEP UP WITH SUSAN + CRISMARIE Website: www.thriveinc.com  Instagram:  Twitter:  Instagram: @thriveinc Facebook LinkedIn (CrisMarie Campbell) LinkedIn (Susan Clarke) Amazon Link - The Beauty of Conflict for Couples Amazon Link - The Beauty of Conflict Apple Podcasts    mamie@mamieks.com

Every day we make thousands of decisions. Many of these are almost insignificant, but others can have major and long lasting impact on us, our teams, and our organizations. The ability to make high quality decisions as an individual and a team is an important competency for any manager. In this episode, I talk about the factors that inhibit us from making good decisions, approaches to counter these so that we can make better decisions, and two approaches to help organize your decision-making conversation or thought process.  The full episode guide includes an overview of each approach along with suggested questions to support your decision-making. Get it when you join the Modern Manager community or purchase the full guide at www.themodernmanager.com/shop.   Get the free mini-guide at www.themodernmanager.com/miniguides. Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and free mini-guides delivered to your inbox.  Read the related blog article: Improve Decision Quality and Make Better Decisions Become a rockstar delegator! Check out the course: The Modern Manager's Guide to Effective Delegation. Key Takeaways: Our brains are influenced by many factors that can impact our ability to make sound decisions.  These factors include: mood, emotions, decision fatigue, cognitive bias, information overload and the paradox of choice. Our mood is impacted by the weather, if we are hungry or tired, etc. Whether we are feeling good or bad, we will bring that into our perspective on a decision. We make thousands of decisions each day. Over time, our brain loses energy for making these decisions, resulting in poor decision quality as we tire. There are many cognitive biases such as confirmation bias, where we highlight information that confirms what we already believe and downplay information that contradicts it. When we have too much information, we are unable to sort through it to find what is most important. When we have too many options, the chance of making the wrong choice increases so we tend to avoid the decision at all. Be sure to frame the decision appropriately. Is this the right decision to make? Is there a right or best answer?  Be aware of your mood and emotions. Pause and revisit a decision or ask someone else to make it. Make important decisions earlier in the day or week when you have more energy. Include others when making decisions to broaden the perspectives. Look for the right and relevant information rather than just more information. Try the 6 hats approach to think through a decision in a logical manner using six different lenses: creative possibilities, the facts, the benefits, the drawbacks, the emotions, the process.  Use a weighted criteria method to rate each option and compare them using a numerical result. Additional Resources: Episode 88: Models and Methods of Decision-Making Decision Fatigue Mood Episode 108: Combat Unhelpful Cognitive Biases Information Overload Paradox of Choice Situational Awareness Book: Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono mamie@mamieks.com