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Leaders differ in behavior, adaptability and focus. Research shows that leaders also differ in how they make decisions—leaders are Power Thinkers.

Through a study at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business, top Fortune 500 CEO’s were identified as being the most highly skilled thinkers and decision-makers in their respective fields. The CEOs exhibited three types of higher-level thinking:

What the study revealed is that top leaders use all three modes of thinking at a very high level and rely on each form of thinking fairly equally. In other words, top leaders balance the way each looks at challenges. Remarkable differences emerged between the manner leaders think to make decisions when compared with a cross section of over 5000 adults from all walks of life.

1. This may sound like common sense; leaders know where they want to go and who they are. They use personal space for thought and reflection. Self knowledge and the ability to communicate this knowledge are other strong suits. They maintain a strong sense of personal space, but also openly discuss feelings and opinions. Leaders are clear thinkers who communicate what they are thinking, feeling and what outcomes are needed for success.
2. Leaders also rely on insight to assess the impact on others. They looked at a course of action not only from a logical viewpoint, but relied on feelings, impressions and intuition. They again sought other opinions to verify their hunches—leaders talk through insights, use sounding boards--get input, but don't gather endless reams of data.
3. Finally, leaders exercise reason to identify the pros of a course of action and the consequences of doing nothing. On complex issues they often relied on a team approach and had a small number of colleagues with whom each worked closely. Moreover, rather than churn issues around in their heads—they write down and assign importance of pros to move forward and the consequences of doing nothing. A key characteristic is making the decision and staying with it to work out difficulties and the unexpected. Leaders drive change and are clear of what the change is.

Why is this important—HOW MIGHT IT HELP YOU? Each of the above are DEVELOPED SKILLS. Valid assessment technology exists for you to compare your thinking and decision making skills with top leaders. Moreover, this technology pinpoints areas for development to become more effective.

Most organizations today need leaders who can make better and faster decisions at multiple levels of responsibility. Due to market dynamics, flatter management structures and high client expectations, employees who can respond to dynamics and make decisions at their level of responsibility are in top demand. Two great barriers exist in many organizations to truly meet these challenges:

Coupled with an already challenging employment market, developing excellence in organizations is an increasingly difficult task for those involved in leadership development, self-directed work teams and improving client responsiveness by better on-the-spot service. Often the effort organizations envisioned directed on the customer, is spent on coaching and counseling employees to think about the impact of their behavior externally and/or internally. Moreover, leadership development is improbable with individuals who can not think to respond to shifting needs and demands.

World Class Organizations Devote 90% of Energy on the Customer. Where do you stack up in human energy focused on the customer? If you’ve experienced the "bloom effect" of an educational program but subsequently experienced an increasing amount of energy on coaching, you may be experiencing symptoms of undeveloped thinking in your organization. 

Different symptoms may be present in various organizations. For example, engineering and technically oriented firms may have high degrees of reasoning abilities, but experience lower levels of insight particularly regarding clients and the larger focus of the organization. Administrative support areas, accounting, safety and quality areas may exhibit similar profiles. 

Whereas in service industries that hire good customer skills, reason may be an under-used thinking technique in those organizations. Inexperienced and lower level employees may suffer from low self-knowledge plus another complex thinking skill. Different behaviors are symptomatic of undeveloped thinking.

Impact of Undeveloped Thinking Skills: Are You Spending More Time Coaching and Counseling?

If your group manifests symptoms of undeveloped thinking skills, you will continue to experience frustration implementing new programs and/or adapting to an increasingly competitive, dynamic environment.

Develop better responsiveness in your organization through pinpointing opportunities to make faster and higher quality decisions. You’ll reap benefits of faster and better responses to competition, improved workflow and enhanced client relationships.

Janice Scanlan helps improve client focus and leadership. Contact her at 281 261-2320 or janicescanlan@earthlink.net.