Whether it’s making a decision about how to properly prepare for a match, how to analyse your competition or whether to train for six weeks instead of eight, good decision making, although challenging to teach, is a skill that is critical to a professional’s success.
This rule applies to athletes, coaches, managers and other officials whether it be sport or business. I had to think wisely on whether it was the right move to schedule a press call with newly appointed national football head coach Angus Eve at 6 pm last Thursday, a mere hour after we issued the press release announcing his appointment.
Would it suit him better to face the press all at once at such short notice or should I have allowed him to be bombarded by phone calls from the media in quick time that evening? Would the media prefer instant access to gather their content or should I have had asked them to wait until the next day if he wasn’t going to be accessible by phone? Would the television media be able to get valuable use of the video content in time for the 7 pm news? Would CNC3 access it in time for their earlier scheduled news broadcast due to CPL (Caribbean Premier League) coverage? Would Angus be comfortable with it and would the organisation we serve be okay with the quick press call? The end result - Angus completed it, responded to all questions fairly and there was decent coverage in the various media houses that same evening and the following day.
As a coach, manager or leader, it’s important to develop an understanding of the decision-making process, as this will better equip you to help shape the way your athletes or members approach decisions on the field and throughout their lives. I’ve learnt that there are six elements that can be considered in order to reach a quality decision, including a helpful frame, clear values, creative alternatives, useful information, sound reasoning and commitment to follow through.
I’ve experienced it numerous times when sharing a personal decision-making story of your own can help you build trust with your team, make you more relatable, and allow you to break down the decision-making process with them. Coaches are known for doing this. Being able to pull from your experience and explain the rationale behind the choices you’ve made will help illustrate the six elements of good decision-making for your team.
Many coaches are familiar with the practice of having athletes visualise skills or upcoming games, but you can also apply this technique to your own decision-making.
Behavioural scientist Vic Strecher told a group of graduates that their decision on who they want to be lied squarely with them. He spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival on June 24 on a panel called "Secrets of Successful Kids: Grit, Purpose, and Artificial Intelligence".
“You are who you choose to be - so you should be very careful who you choose to be,” Strecher said.
He continued, “Aristotle wrote that the happiest people are those who have “kept acquisition of external goods within moderate limits,” and that “Any excessive amount of such things must either cause its possessor some injury or, at any rate, bring him no benefit.”
He was speaking from experience. As a mentor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle had seen excesses that would make Donald Trump sick with envy. He said that we all have both self-enhancing and self-transcending aspirations, but compared those driven by self-enhancement and hedonistic desire to "grazing animals".
"What’s so bad about grazing?" you might ask. Fair enough. Who doesn’t like to graze on good food, nice beverages, sex, beauty, money and other things that simply give pleasure? And yet most of us still understand that there’s more to life. Most of us would like to be financially comfortable, to be well regarded, and to have some degree of control in our lives.
But most of us understand that emblazoning our names on company logos and signboards isn’t going to make us truly happy. We realise that being the richest person in the cemetery is rather meaningless. But perhaps if we could contribute in some way towards making the cemetery or the village recreation ground a better kept and safer place it may also be more pleasing to both you and many others.
Earlier this year, I chose to have an in-depth conversation with US national football team press officer Michael Kammarman about the roles and dealings of being a press officer at the international level with a national team. The purpose of the recording which can be viewed on my Facebook and YouTube pages was for us to share our stories and experiences of our journeys combined for over 40 years in the job, with the hope that it can be of value and inspiring to other individuals who may want to follow similar paths.
I had to make a decision on whether to engage Michael and then the other of whether it was good timing to release it during the first week of the CONCACAF Octagonal Qualifiers this past week particularly with only one of the two countries still involved. But nevertheless, I gave careful thought to my end decision. Now you can decide on your own by catching a view of it.
Shaun Fuentes is the head of TTFA Media. He was a FIFA Media Officer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. The views expressed are solely his and not a representation of any organisation. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com