In the globalized environment of intense competition, businesses are obliged to follow technology, position themselves with the right product in the right market, keep a qualified workforce within the organization, put weight on R&D and innovation work, and be fast in producing quality goods and services in order to ensure sustainability. They also have to run many processes at the same time: making a profit while investing, and ensuring satisfaction and belonging for both customers and employees. If you are a manager and luck is not always on your side, all these processes mean new problems you are highly likely to encounter and difficult decisions that must be taken. In parallel with the increasing size and complexity of businesses, the skills of decision-making, taking initiative and problem-solving are gaining ever more importance for managers and for all employees. We could list many qualities a manager should have, but among these skills perhaps one of the most critical is the ability to solve problems and make decisions. A manager faces many situations requiring decisions, both at work and in their private life, and in the great majority of them decides without much difficulty. However, when the decision concerns others, when the alternatives are unclear, or when the cost of a wrong decision can be heavy, making the right decision becomes a problem. The time factor, too, is like a ticking bomb in the manager's hands. In short, it can be said that making the right decision at the right time, and ensuring the decision taken is implemented effectively, is the most important executive function for all managers.

In our daily lives we face many alternatives to choose between. Sometimes we move on without deciding — and so we miss things, or we surrender ourselves to other people's decisions. But do we have the luxury of doing this in the business world? A decision is a process that involves action as much as thought. Doing the best analyses but not taking action is equivalent to remaining indecisive or not deciding at all. In other words, it will not be an acceptable practice in the business world.

We must admit that knowing what you want, or becoming convinced of what is right, is not always easy. We often run into a host of psychological processes, environmental factors, learned helplessness, our own past mistakes, even other people's mistakes. And these make it harder for us to decide and to show resolve. At this point, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to act without understanding the event, the problem or the process, and without gathering the right information. You need to be very clear about "What do I want, and why?" or "What does the other side want, and why?". When you start defining the purpose, the goals and the influencing and constraining factors — and when, as a manager, you start perceiving facts as "useful or useless" rather than "right or wrong" — you will see that your job becomes much easier.

Although the two concepts are often confused, another of the manager's duties is problem-solving. While decision-making is about narrowing down options, problem-solving is about creativity. Think about yourself and the decisions you make. You do not have to be creative when deciding, but you do have to think analytically. And it is obvious that for this you will need sufficient motivation and a less stressful environment — because excessive stress can often slow progress or prevent ultimate success. If you have solved the stress problem and you also accept that there is a situation in plain sight that needs to change, you have overcome an important part. The other thing you need is for all the people capable of solving the problem to be willing to eliminate the situation. If a problem does not bother everyone needed to solve it, or if some of the people critical to the solution have no desire to solve it, rest assured there will be no real solution.

So if there is a problem we need to solve, how should we approach it? This is another important detail. Albert Einstein says: "No problem can be solved with the same mindset you had when you became aware of it. A different perspective must absolutely be found." In other words, while trying to solve the problem you must be able to look at yourself from a distance. That way you can develop alternatives. Do not forget critical thinking and questioning all assumptions either, so that you create the most suitable course of action, the action plan.

Let us not forget that the outcomes we experience are usually the price of our own choices. Being part of the problem, being a clue on the way to the solution, or being the person who solves the problem... This "decision" about which one you will be is also yours.

Author: Atakan Genç