Decision-making style
For: Anyone who makes calls others have to live with
Most managers think they decide well. Their teams often disagree. A 10-question deep-dive on how — and how visibly — you actually call things.
- 10 questions
- 3 dimensions
- ~3-4 min
- Self · Peer · Both
Decision-making is one of the hardest skills to self-assess, because the same mind that made the decision also produces the post-hoc rationalisation that justifies it. The result: a systematic gap between how you think you decide and how others experience your decisions. This template zeroes in on three specific dimensions: timing (do you decide too fast, too slow, or with the situation), reasoning visibility (can others follow how you got there), and ownership (do you stand behind hard calls or quietly relitigate them). 10 questions across three dimensions.
How it works
Fill it in for yourself first — the moment you write a specific answer about your last big call, patterns start surfacing. Then send it to the people who live with your decisions: direct reports, peers, your own boss. The gap between your view and theirs is the part worth reading.
What's inside — 10 questions across 3 dimensions
Timing and patience
whether you decide at the right moment for the situation, not for your own discomfort with delay or urgency
Reasoning visibility
whether others can follow how you got to a decision, or only see the outcome
Ownership and follow-through
whether you stand behind hard calls or keep relitigating them quietly
The questions, in full
Every question is included below. You answer them yourself first, then send the same set to the people who've seen you work.
Timing and patience
- Q1Rating (1-5)
When this person makes a decision, the timing usually serves the situation — not their own discomfort with delay or urgency.
- Q2Rating (1-5)
When information is incomplete, this person is willing to wait for more — without freezing.
- Q3Open answer
Tell me about a recent decision this person made that they got the timing on — too fast, too slow, or just right. What made it land that way?
Reasoning visibility
- Q4Rating (1-5)
After this person makes a decision, I understand why it was made — not just what was decided.
- Q5Rating (1-5)
This person doesn't dress up gut calls as 'data-driven' analysis after the fact.
- Q6Multiple choice
How often does this person involve others in decisions that affect them?
- — Almost never — decisions appear without warning
- — Sometimes, but inconsistently — depends on the decision or their mood
- — Often, with clear scope — I know when I'm being consulted vs informed
- — Almost always, when relevant — they err on the side of involving people
- Q7Rating (1-5)
This person is honest about the trade-offs in a decision, not just the upside they chose.
Ownership and follow-through
- Q8Rating (1-5)
Once this person makes a hard call, they don't keep relitigating it without new information.
- Q9Rating (1-5)
When a decision turns out to be wrong, this person owns it — not the conditions or other people.
- Q10Open answer
What's a decision this person has been postponing — formally 'not yet' but functionally 'never'? Why?
The research behind these questions
Drawn from Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow on System 1 vs System 2 deliberation, Annie Duke's Thinking in Bets on separating decision quality from outcome, Roger Martin's The Opposable Mind on integrative thinking and trade-off honesty, and McKinsey's research on decision-architecture frameworks. Each question targets a specific behavior — no vague 'decisive leader' rating.
References
- — Daniel Kahneman — Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)
- — Annie Duke — Thinking in Bets (2018)
- — Roger Martin — The Opposable Mind (HBR)
- — McKinsey & Company — decision-making categorization research
- — Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) — bipolar moment-anchored question methodology
Ready to run this round on yourself?
Sign up, pick this template, answer it about yourself, and send the same questions to the people who've been in the room with you. The gap between your view and theirs is where the actual learning lives.