Decision Making Training for Project and Program Managers

Decision Making Training for Project and Program Managers 

Of all project manager skills, decision making is perhaps the most valuable.

The entire managerial process is based on decisions. Decisions are needed both for tackling problems as well as for taking maximum advantages of the opportunities available. Correct decisions reduce complexities, uncertainties and diversities of the organizational environments.

Strong decision making skills are necessary to weigh the available options and choose the best course of action. Indecisiveness or poor decisions can put the brakes on a project – not to mention your career.

Not surprisingly, a project manager’s decision making ability can have a domino effect on the entire organization. Companies may struggle without the leadership of skilled project managers. These struggles often include problems fulfilling sales and profit goals, efficiency and productivity objectives.

Other aspects of an organization’s business health that depend on effective decision making include:

• Maintaining product or service quality
• Keeping projects on schedule
• Keeping costs on budget
• Fostering a strong company culture
• Helping staff succeed in their roles
• Delivering on customer expectations

There are several strategies to improving decision making in an organization. Experts in this area believe of utmost important is to have a plan.

If you know you have an upcoming decision to make, it can help to make a plan. For example, if you have to decide how best your team can meet a company sales goal, think about the size of your team and what their individual goals could be to meet that larger goal. You can also examine what resources and supports may help you and your team achieve their goal.

Decision Making Training for Project and Program Managers by Tonex

Decision Making Training for project and program managers will teach you the notions and philosophy behind decision-making as well as the process, tools, techniques, and strategies of management decision making. Moreover, we will provide you with the tips to influence the others’ decision-making and to stay away from the drawbacks of typical mistakes of decision making. This training will help you develop and establish long-term strategies based on effective decisions that will lead to a competitive advantage for your organization.

Decision Making Training will teach you how to establish the situation around where decision is taken, how to analyze all elements engaged in developing possibilities, how to evaluate each possibility towards the requirements, to determine the best alternative and then how to derive that into an effective decision.

Throughout the strong decision making structure, you will also learn how to convince others about your decision and share it efficiently, and how to oversee it to assure that it stays on track and effective.

Why Do You Need Decision Making Training?

• You will learn how to develop the decision you are making in to strategy
• You will concentrate on the elements engaged and not particularly the problem challenging you to extend your alternatives, broaden your thinking, and consider all the choices objectively
• You will know how to make the right decision
• You will learn to communicate your decision effectively, to make sure that all the personnel are fully aware of the plan.

Tonex Training Framework

Decision Making Training for project and program managers introduces you to an inclusive decision-making configuration that can be applied in all forms of decisions. Once you have absorbed all the theoretical concepts required for decision-making, you will exercise them through a range of individual/group activities. During these practical activities and hands-on workshops, you will discover and evaluate your personal decision making style. You will experience all the material you have learned with real-world projects and examples.

Audience

Decision Making Training for project and program managers is a 3-day course designed for:

• Project managers
• Program managers
• Team leaders
• Analysts
• All the professionals involved in making high quality decisions

Training Objectives

Upon the completion of Decision Making Training for project and program managers, the attendees are able to:

• Understand the major keystones of making high-quality decisions
• Set a decision result they expect to accomplish
• Describe the main stakeholders and their responsibilities in the process of decision making
• Determine how decision making models influence others and the decision making context
• Use instinctive and data-based decision making in the right situations
• Use a structure and methods to oversee high-quality decisions
• Guide their team towards a high-quality decision
• Understand the significance and the long-term effect of making effective decisions
• Sustain dignity during the rise of a problem
• Apply the right tools for collecting facts needed for successful decision making
• Distinguish between different styles of decision making
• Lead a successful problem solving session
• Handle difficult scenarios by comprehending the best and alternate solutions
• Create and sustain open interactions
• Express their opinions in an unambiguous and convincing style
• Improve the required skills to lead creative brainstorming sessions
• Separate and analyze options for solving problems
• Determine best solutions via scoring and ranking options
• Understand the necessity to accomplish a long-term solution and accomplish success

Course Outline

Overview of Managerial Decision Making

• Various forms of decision making
• Strategic decision making definition
• Difference between strategic and tactical decisions
• Strategic decision making process
• Why implementing the decision is crucial?
• Discussing the decisions you might have to make
• The Keystones of excellent decisions
• Understanding the problems you face
• Decision context
• Decision constraints
• Tasks
• The Importance of Management Decision Making
• How to find the root causes of issues
• Decision making styles
• Principles behind an effective decision making
• Steps and thoughts for good decision making
• Step-by-step process of decision making
• Big picture and the decisions impact on it
• Implementing solutions while securing open interactions and creativity

The Decision Making Structure

• Determining the problem, needs, or opportunities
• Constructing the decision framework
• Researching the alternatives
• Assessing the alternatives
• Going with the right choice
• Putting the selected option into action
• Evaluating the results

How to Shape the Decision Framework

• There is no universal structure
• Fully comprehend the decision framework
• What/why you are deciding about?
• Determining the results-oriented objectives
• Determining the principals of decision making
• Choosing the key stakeholders

Evaluation Matrices

• Knowing all about your competitors
• The outcomes you would like to achieve
• What does it take to accomplish your goals?
• What are accessible resources?
• Factors of success

Being Cautious about Decision Traps

• What are the potential decision traps
• How managers can avoid them
• Impact of stereotypes on your decisions
• Why each company requires its unique style of decision making?
• Why do you need to stay away from the initial “guesstimates” in your decision-making?
• How confirming information can result in faulty decisions

Decision Categories

• Range of decision forms
• Instinctive decision making
• Evaluating various models of decision making
• Data-based decision making
• Managing the decision process

Strategic Decision Making Development

• Analyzing the process of strategic decision making
• Wrong executive decision making signs
• Decision making models
• How to improve your decision making skills
• How come managers are not and cannot be rational when making decisions

Risk and Probabilities

• Definitions of uncertainty, risk, and certainty
• Measuring possibilities and probable values
• Integrating probabilities to accomplish effective results
• Effect of decision framing prejudices managers’ decisions and their insights of value
• When managers are entitled to make risky choices
• How to make the decisions influencing behavior

Communication Role in Decision Making

• How poor communication harm decision making
• DISC Model components associated with human behavior
• Empowering behavioral styles to enhance strategic decision making

Decision Making as A Team

• Situations requiring individual and group decision making
• Vroom-Yetton Decision Tree Model
• Pros and cons of team decision making
• Effective approaches in group decision making

Role of Creativity in Managerial Decision Making

• How to avoid the assumptions from blocking creativity
• Effect of cognitive practices on creativity
• Breaking the creative barriers to improve the creativity
• How to enhance brainstorming

Establishing a Successful Procedure for Strategic Decision Making

• Developing an efficient strategic decision making procedure
• Evaluating the already existing strategic situation
• Establishing long-term strategic objectives
• How to assess the alignment and gap of the plan
• Developing and analyzing various strategic pathways
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the implemented decisions

Overview of Deliberative Decision Making

• Deliberative decision-making range of options
• Various pros and cons
• Attempts to determine the best option through a process of qualitative argumentation
• Intuitive decision making
• Technical decision making

Caliper Profile Workshop: Deliberative Decision Making

• Deliberative Decision Making, And Why You Need It
• Leadership competencies assessment
• Objective assessment
• Selection, development, promotion, team building, and succession planning
• Proposing: Generate a proposal for a shared agreement.
• Questions and Comments: All present ask clarifying questions, offer key succinct points of information, proffer a better idea to the proposal, or make any other relevant comments.
• Amending: Proposer amends the proposal based on the input from the previous two steps if desired. After a significant amendment, another round of Questions and Comments may be requested.
• Integrating

Case Study: Strategic Decision About Downsizing In Southwest Airlines

The challenge: While Southwest Airlines desperately needs to lower the costs and is presented to a good solution to do so as an outcome of the effectiveness of its e‐commerce creativity, the company is dedicated to support its workforce with a secure workplace and treating the personnel well.

Case Problem: decisions on whether, when, and how to downsize the company without hurting its personnel.

Decision Making Training for Project and Program Managers