Workplace

The next time a big decision presents itself, try something new: Don't make it—at least not right away. Except in emergencies, there can be great value in delaying decision-making in favor of "thinking gray."

The concept

Thinking gray is a concept developed by Steven Sample, president of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. It involves acting counter to leadership instincts that dictate finding solutions quickly.

According to Sample, instincts can make leaders susceptible to using heuristics, or mental shortcuts, when assessing information. Although heuristics help make simple decisions in life, such as choosing what to eat in the morning or finding a tie to match one's suit, leaders are paid to make complex decisions. They need to use more complex processes. And though it is natural to want to respond immediately when asked to make a decision, stopping the action and applying "gray" thinking dramatically can improve the quality of leadership decisions.

Tips

Consider the following ideas for this new approach to decision making:

• Seek multiple sources of information. Often, people making requests provide only the information they want you to know. Sometimes, an incomplete picture appears to be complete because the requester has practice selecting and shaping the information he shares. Sometimes, he simply overlooks relevant sources of information. The end result can be a proposal or request that appears complete and creates a compelling argument for a particular choice but actually is missing critical facts. Leaders who think gray seek additional information. They talk to others who may not be involved in the proposal process; conduct their own investigation; and do not assume everything they need to know will be provided by others.
  
  
• Set independent parameters. Leaders need to provide their own structure to decisions, especially when decision options seem outrageous or impossible. Others will try to manipulate the range of possibilities by providing their own parameters whether intentionally misleading or not. Budget requests, sales estimates and other numbers can be inflated or deflated by those contributing information to the decision-making process simply because they do not have enough information. Leaders who think gray research, create their own boundaries and reset outrageous parameters.
  
  
• Recharacterize a decision in terms of multiple options. The way others formulate a request can influence a leader's response to it. Negatively framed decisions predict doom if you do not take a risk, such as, "If we don't move now, we could lose everything!" Compelled to act swiftly to avoid disaster, you may risk moving forward with a lack of information about the outcome should another alternative be chosen. Positively framed decisions create a compelling sense of security, such as, "If we do that, we're guaranteed a 10 percent return." But if you had chosen to do something else, would a 15 percent return be possible? Positive frames can lull you into inaction, and negative and positive frames can get you into trouble. Rather than view a decision as binary (good or bad, true or false, right or wrong), gray-thinking leaders rephrase a decision in terms of multiple options.

The end result

Gray thinking is more difficult than relying on shortcuts and takes time to develop into a skill. It takes more mental effort, too. A creative process, thinking gray requires leaders to be open to new perspectives.

By seeking more information and suspending greater volumes of information from judgment for a longer period of time, you may discover angles not originally contemplated and contradictory data that needs to be considered or integrated. A leader who thinks gray may find himself listening long enough to find unique, superior answers to the decisions he needs to make.

Although some decisions wind up never having to be made, a good leader understands thinking gray does not excuse failure to think at all. And it need not be branded as skepticism. Thinking gray is thinking free.

Karen L. Cates is a professor of management at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Ill.; teaches executive courses for Evanston, Ill.-based Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management; and consults clients about leadership and decision making.