What are the 5 decision-making skills

Some decisions are so simple that you're barely aware you're making them, while others are time consuming, high risk, and can leave you feeling anxious.

Decisions can make or break a project or an entire business. And they often involve complex and unpredictable interpersonal issues, too.

In this article and video, we explore a seven-step approach for improving the quality of your decision making, and for boosting your chances of a successful outcome.

Click here to access a transcript of this video.

A 7-Step Decision-Making Strategy

To avoid making a bad decision, you need to bring a range of decision-making skills together in a logical and ordered process. We recommend the following seven steps:

1. Investigate the situation in detail.
2. Create a constructive environment.
3. Generate good alternatives.
4. Explore your options.
5. Select the best solution.
6. Evaluate your plan.
7. Communicate your decision, and take action.

This process will ensure that you make a good decision in a complex situation, but it may be unnecessarily complicated for small or simple decisions. In these cases, jump to Step 5.

If you need to make a quick decision under pressure, see our articles, OODA Loops and The TDODAR Decision Model.

Let's look at each of these steps in detail. Each step features a list of related Mind Tools resources to help you further.

Step 1: Investigate the Situation in Detail

Decisions often fail because key factors are missed or ignored from the outset. So, before you can begin to make a decision, you need to fully understand your situation.

Start by considering the decision in the context of the problem it is intended to address. You need to determine whether the stated problem is the real issue, or just a symptom of something deeper.

Look beyond the obvious. It may be that your objective can be approached in isolation, but it's more likely that there are a number of interrelated factors to consider. Changes made in one department, for example, could have knock-on effects elsewhere, making the change counterproductive.

Step 2: Create a Constructive Environment for Your Decision

Can you give your decision the attention it needs? Spend some time preparing yourself before diving in to the facts and figures.

Remember that most decisions will affect other people too, so it helps to create a constructive environment in which to explore the situation together and gain support.

This is especially true when you have to rely on other people to implement a decision that you're responsible for. You'll need to identify who to include in the process and who will be part of any final decision-making group, which will ideally comprise just five to seven people.

Enable people to contribute to the discussions without any fear of the other participants rejecting them and their ideas. Make sure that everyone recognizes that the objective is to make the best decision possible in the circumstances, without blame.

Step 3: Generate Good Alternatives to Decide Between

The wider the options you explore, the better your final decision is likely to be. Generating a number of different options may seem to make your decision more complicated at first, but the act of coming up with alternatives forces you to dig deeper and to look at the problem from different angles.

This is when it can be helpful to employ a variety of creative thinking techniques. These can help you to step outside your normal patterns of thinking and come up with some truly innovative solutions.

Brainstorming is probably the most popular method of generating ideas, but for more tips on how to examine your situation from new perspectives, and how to organize ideas into manageable themes and groups, see the Mind Tools resources in the box, below.

Step 4: Explore Your Options

When you're satisfied that you have a good selection of realistic alternatives, it's time to evaluate the feasibility, risks and implications of each one.

Almost every decision involves some degree of risk. You'll need a structured approach for assessing threats and evaluating the probability of adverse events occurring – and what they might cost to manage. You'll also want to examine the ethical impact of each option, and how that might sit with your personal and organizational values.

The resources highlighted below offer tried-and-true models to help you.

Step 5: Select the Best Solution

Once you've evaluated the alternatives, the next step is to make your decision!

If you have various criteria to consider, use Decision Matrix Analysis to compare them reliably and rigorously. Or, if you want to determine which ones should carry most weight in your decision, conduct a Paired Comparison Analysis.

If your decision is being made within a group, techniques such as multi-voting and the Modified Borda Count can help your team reach an agreement.

When anonymity is important, decision-makers dislike one another, or there is a tendency for certain individuals to dominate the process, use the Delphi Technique to reach a fair and impartial decision. This uses cycles of anonymous, written discussion and argument, managed by a facilitator. Participants do not meet, and sometimes they don't even know who else is involved.

If you're working with an established team, Hartnett's Consensus-Oriented Decision-Making Model is useful for encouraging everyone to participate in making the decision. Or, if you're working with several different teams, or a particularly large group, assign responsibility for each stage of the decision-making process with Bain's RAPID Framework, so that everyone understands their responsibilities and any potential in-fighting can be avoided.

Step 6: Evaluate Your Plan

After all the effort and hard work you've invested in evaluating and selecting alternatives, it can be tempting to forge ahead at this stage. But now, more than ever, is the time to "sense check" your decision. After all, hindsight is great for identifying why things have gone wrong, but it's far better to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place!

Before you start to implement your decision, take a long, dispassionate look at it to be sure that you have been thorough, and that common errors haven't crept into the process.

Your final decision is only as good as the facts and research you used to make it. Make sure that your information is trustworthy, and that you've done your best not to "cherry pick" data. This will help you avoid confirmation bias, a common psychological bias in decision making.

Discuss your preliminary conclusions with important stakeholders to enable them to spot flaws, make recommendations, and support your conclusions. Listen to your own intuition, too, and quietly and methodically test assumptions and decisions against your own experience. BRAIN BRAN BRAND is a useful tool for this. If you have any doubts, examine them thoroughly to work out what's troubling you.

Use Blindspot Analysis to review whether you've fallen prey to problems like over-confidence, escalating commitment, or groupthink. And consider checking the logical structure of your process with the Ladder of Inference, to make sure that a well-founded and consistent decision emerges at the end.

Step 7: Communicate Your Decision, and Take Action

Once you've made your decision, you need to communicate it to everyone affected by it in an engaging, informative and inspiring way.

Get them involved in implementing the solution by discussing how and why you arrived at your decision. The more information you provide about risks and projected benefits, the more likely people will be to support it.

If people point out a flaw in your process as a result, have the humility to welcome their input and review your plans appropriately – it's much better to do this now, cheaply, than having to do it expensively (and embarrassingly) if your plans have failed.

Systematically combining a range of decision-making tools can help you make highly effective decisions, either individually or as part of a group. The seven-step strategy is:

1. Investigate the situation in detail.
2. Create a constructive environment.
3. Generate good alternatives.
4. Explore your options.
5. Select the best solution.
6. Evaluate your plan.
7. Communicate your decision, and take action.

Take our How Good is Your Decision-Making? quiz to find out how well you're doing now!

This is a great list of decision-making skills for your resume.

It can get you hired faster, too.

How?

Well—

There’s a right way and a wrong way to show decision making skills on a resume.

Do it wrong, and that dream job will evaporate.

Do it right, and you’ll prove yourself.

This guide will show you:

• A great decision-making skills list for resumes.
• How to write you have good decision-making skills in resumes.
• Why resume bullet points are the best place to prove management resume skills.
• How to improve decision-making skills to land better jobs.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume templates here.

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[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.

First—

What is decision making?

Decision making skills definition: The ability to select between two or more alternatives to reach the best outcome in the shortest time.

Now, let’s put the definition into practice.

1

Review the Best Decision Making Skills for Your Resume

Just need decision-making skills for a resume?

Get a list of 30+ below.

Need decision making examples so your resume stands out?

Scroll down below the list.

Decision Making Skills Resume List

This list shows the types of decision and initiative skills.

It also shows decision-related skills like communication and problem-solving skills.

Types of Decision Making Skills

• Ethical decision making skills. Can you pick from tough choices while upholding ethics? A central skill for healthcare, the financial industry, and more.
• Consumer decision making process. Understanding how consumers make decisions is key for marketing and sales specialists.
• Team decision-making skills. Also called group decision making or collaborative decision making. Important in business and managerial jobs.
• Executive decision making. The opposite of group decision making. Executives must gather input, then make difficult decisions on their own.
• Consensus decision making skills. This rare team skill finds a solution all members can support. Valued in government and nonprofit jobs.

• Shared decision-making skills. Similar to team decision making, but generally has a healthcare focus.
• Medical decision making skills. \Crucial for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
• Rational decision making. The rational model of decision-making is a necessary skill in managerial and business jobs.
• Data driven decision-making skills. Are you adept at data collection and analysis? This is crucial in data-heavy fields like marketing or healthcare.

• Intuitive decision-making ability. Can you go with your gut to make decisions? Valued in action-oriented fields like the military, firefighting, and police work.
• Evidence-based decision making. The opposite of intuitive decision-making. Vital in the healthcare field.
• Programmed decision making. Can you make policies and procedures? Good skill for high-level management jobs.
• Military decision making process. The US Army uses this distinct seven-step plan to make operational decisions.

Managers need decision making skills like they need air. See our guide: Top 10 Management Skills: List & Great Advice

Skills Related to Decision Making

Are you a good decision maker?

That takes lots of skills.

Those include problem analysis, listening, and information gathering.

Check the list below for decision-making skills employers crave.

Identifying Problems

One of the first steps in the decision-making process is identifying problems. Supporting skills include:

• Problem Analysis
• Root-Cause Analysis
• Fishbone Diagramming
• 5 Whys Technique

Collecting Input

Team decision making requires input. See these linked decision making skills:

• Information Gathering
• Conducting Polls
• Consensus-Building

Generating Possible Solutions

Once you understand the problem, you need solutions. These skills build them:

• Brainstorming
• Creativity
• Lateral Thinking

Evaluating and Choosing Solutions

To choose between the options, you’ll need other skills:

• Analysis
• Risk Assessment
• Cost Analysis
• Scientific Analysis

Skills Related to Decision Making

The skills below aren’t decision making skills. But—to make good decisions, you’ll need many of them.

Want decision-making skills examples to build your resume? That’s next.

Pro Tip: Don’t put all these decision making skills on a resume. Focus on the one or two the job ad really wants.

What about problem solving skills? Collaboration? Communication? They’re all important. See our guide: 99 Key Skills for a Resume + Examples

Need to focus on hard skills? Go to: Essential Hard Skills for Resumes & Workforce

2

Pick the Right Resume Decision Making Skills

There are tons of decision making skills for your resume.

Picking the right one can be hard.

Let’s make it easy.

Look in the job offer. It’ll tell what skills it needs.

This decision-making skills example shows how:

As our new Human Resources Manager, you’ll deliver HR and Benefits support for our staff. You’ll handle recruitment, selection, and orientation of new hires. You’ll also facilitate smooth operation of the volunteer program. You’ll track annual evaluations and facilitate decisions about promotions and salary adjustments. You’ll assist with employee relations and ensure compliance with policies—both internal and external. You’ll also set the course for how to handle disciplinary actions. Your choices in this role will deeply impact the company.

See that?

The hiring manager just said which management resume skills to list.

This isn’t team decision making or shared decision making.

This job most probably needs rational decision-making skills.

But don’t just say you’ve got them.

Prove it.

I’ll show how next.

Pro Tip: Need a tip for your decision making styles? According to Jeff Bezos, smart managers make decisions fast. They don’t wait for 100% understanding before they act.

These days, most jobs need computer skills. See our guide: Computer Skills: Best Resume Computer Skills Employers Want

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

3

Prove Decision Making Skills on a Resume to Get Hired

“We should interview this one.”

There’s no doubt employers crave decision-making skills.

But ou can’t just say, “I am a great decision-maker.”

So—

How to write decision making skills on a resume?

1. List decision making skills from the job ad.
2. Prove you’ve got those skills.
3. Show how they helped the company.

To do that, pack your resume bullet points with achievements.

These taking initiative examples show how:

Decision Making Examples for Resumes

Here are five basic initiative-taking examples.

Job ad says: The perfect candidate makes good decisions under pressure.

Your resume says one of these:

• Tasked with making dozens of quick decisions daily. Overall result was a 30% increase in marketing ROI.

• Commended by upper management 5x for good decision making skills under pressure.

• Had to decide on short notice how to handle new internet privacy laws. Pivoted to new live video campaign that increased user data collection 25%.

• Made multiple patient care decisions daily with 95% positive satisfaction scores.

• Tasked with saving money during a tight time. Made decision to switch to QuickBooks, saving 20% on accounting costs.

See that?

That’s not lip-service. It’s proof.

Ethical Decision Making Examples for Resumes

Jobs in banking, world government, and healthcare value ethical decision making.

These decision making skills examples show how to list them on a resume.

Job ad says: The right candidate has good ethical decision-making skills.

Your resume says:

• Led team of 14 employees through a 9-step ethical decision-making process at 5 major company turning points.

• Facilitated facts-gathering for ethical decision-making process during community referendum drive. Resolved differences with community leaders in 3 days.

Difficult Decision Examples for Resumes

Executive-level jobs and top management jobs have difficult decisions.

These sample resume bullets offer proof.

Job ad says: The right applicant has solid difficult decision-making skills.

Your resume says: 

• Faced with a tough decision to promote 1 of 5 great candidates. Chose the one most likely to stay with the company and grow. She became our star performer.

• Forced to choose between a loyal vendor and a cheaper alternative. Worked with trusted vendor on a compromise, preserving relationship and saving 10%.

Taking Initiative Examples for Resumes

Do you attack problems and dismantle them? Employers love that. Prove it on your resume with strong examples.

These two initiative skills examples show how:

Job ad requires someone who can take the initiative and get things done.

Your resume says:

• Created and implemented a new order-taking process that saved 5 employee hours a week.

• Initiated a job kanban system with Jira that raised team efficiency 35%.

Consensus Decision Making Examples for Resumes

Nonprofits and government jobs often need consensus decision making skills.

Prove you’ve got them like these decision-making skills examples:

Job ad says: We need someone with strong consensus decision making ability.

Your resume says:

• Used consensus decision-making to make 15 organization-level decisions per year. Achieved 99% buy-in for all major decisions.

• Cut consensus decision making time by 25% per choice through faster information-gathering process.

Rational Decision Making Examples for Resumes

Rational decision making is a key business skill.

If you’ve got it, flaunt it like these initiative-taking examples:

Job ad says: Our dream applicant has well-developed rational decision-making skills.

Your resume says: 

• Employed 7-step rational decision-making process to pick new graphic design software. Saved $3,000 and team was 99% happy with the choice.

• Used rational decision making skills to facilitate hiring of new software engineer. Cut 1 week from typical time-to-hire.

Perfect.

To prove initiative skills on a resume, show achievements that fit the job.

Then, add metrics. Those are numbers like percents, dollars, people trained, or time or money saved.

Pro Tip: Do you need multiple resume bullets to describe decision-making skills? Only if the job ad says decisions are the most important requirement. Otherwise, list one or two.

Problem solving and decision making are soft skills. Need more? See our guide: Soft Skills vs Hard Skills for a Job: What Employers Look For

4

Decision Making Synonyms for Resumes

You can’t say, “decision making” five times in a resume.

So—you need decision-making synonyms.

Good news.

Here’s a list of 12 synonyms for decision making for your resume:

Decision Making Synonyms

• Initiative Taking
• Self-Starting
• Action-Oriented
• Leader
• Pioneering/Pioneered
• Originator/Originated
• Creativity
• Trailblazing
• Resourcefulness
• Driven/Drive
• Self-Motivation/Motivated

Pro Tip: You won’t need decision-making synonyms if you stick to achievements. Achievement and accomplishment make your case without creative language.

You can’t have good team decision making skills without communication. See our guide: 20+ Effective Communication Skills for Resumes & Workplace Success

5

How to Improve Decision Making Skills

Argh!

That cushy job wants decision-making skills, but—

You can’t even decide if you have them.

Don’t fret.

Hone your decision making skills with seven tips:

1. Decide faster. Author Napoleon Hill studied over 500 millionaires. All shared a key trait—they made decisions quickly.
2. Keep your eyes on the goal. Knowing the goal helps you make decisions fast because it simplifies your choices.
3. Limit options. More choice isn’t always good. Quickly pick the best few options and discard the rest.
4. Research. Dig in to understand the problem. Research the best 3–5 solutions.
5. Seek advice. Consult someone with experience to make choices easier.
6. Hone communication and conflict-management skills. For team decision making, gather input from all stakeholders.
7. Fail small, fail often. Test a few solutions on a small scale. Then put more resources toward the one that works.

Pro Tip: Still can’t wrap your head around decision-making skills? Coursera’s got a popular online decision making class you can complete in five hours.

And to avoid being left open-mouthed in an interview, make sure you read: Common Job Interview Questions and the Best Answers

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Here’s a recap. How to list decision-making skills on a resume:

1. Review the different types of decision making skills. Figure out which one is most important to the job you want.
2. Prove your decision-making skills. Do that by showing how they helped employers in past jobs.
3. Add metrics to shore up your resume skills list. Dollar amounts and percentages prove your decisions pack a punch.
4. Look at good initiative skills examples to see how to word your resume.

Do you have questions on how to list decision-making skills on a resume? Not sure how to prove decision making skills? Give us a shout in the comments! We’d be happy to reply.