Knowing yourself fully – and others can be a powerful tool. A person’s personality, thinking style, emotional tendencies, and risk tolerance influence almost everything about the way they exist in the world, both professionally and personally. This includes the way in which they make decisions. 

Knowing yourself and how you react to things is valuable information to have. It’s also helpful when working with others, handling team dynamics and understanding how your people make decisions. Having a good team is so much more than just having access to a group of people with skill and talent, it’s also ensuring that the personality of each member of your team plays well with the others and keeps everyone in sync. Forgetting to factor in people’s personalities and motivations could cause discontentment in the office, making projects more challenging to orchestrate.  

Playing to everyone’s differing decision-making styles and strengths, will help you mediate, motivate and lead your team. This can only be done, if you know your people. 

Different personalities approach decision-making, deadlines, work and interpersonal relationships in unique ways. Understanding the differences is essential to understanding your team. There are many different decision-making styles according to various personality tests, but the basics are as follows: 

 

  • Analytical:  

Tolerates alternative opinions or options 

Is meticulous in the decision-making process 

Identifies all possible details and forms the best solution 

 

  • Conceptual:  

Characterised by a big picture perspective and a focus on long-term thinking 

Utilises creativity and innovation in problem-solving  

Considers multiple alternatives and potential long-term impacts 

 

  • Directive:  

Favors quick, efficient decisions based on the facts they have at hand and past experiences  

Embraces practicality and speed in problem-solving 

May make decisions with minimal information and few alternatives 

Is confident in their decisions  

 

  • Intuitive:  

Uses gut feelings and instincts when making decisions 

Offers abstract concepts and possibilities rather than tangible evidence 

Good at making decisions and judgments based on the gut feeling of a situation 

 

Each of these decision-making styles offers value. The ideal would be for a decision maker of each style to offer input in a joint decision to ensure that a decision is the correct one from each angle. It is likely that this decision will be better in the short and long term than a decision made by just one of these decision makers.  

These are just some of the decision-making styles. There are others though, some centre on logical or emotional thinkers, and a person’s risk tolerance.  

Risk Tolerance  

  • Cautious Planners (Risk-Averse)  

These planners are risk averse. They take their time to analyse all the possible risks. They prefer safe, predictable choices. 

  • Spontaneous Doers (Risk-Takers)  

These planners are risk takers. They act quickly, embrace uncertainty, and are comfortable with trial-and-error.

 

Understanding different personalities will help you understand different decision-making styles.  

What is your natural style – and can you identify your teams’? How might you support one another? 

Look out for our next blog, where we will cover the DISC personality profile.