Recharge Your Decision-Making

At its core, a board of directors is the ultimate decision-making body for an organization. The board’s ability to make sound decisions based on consideration of reliable facts, coupled with the good judgment of its individual members, is a key element of organizational success.

That makes it important to understand the factors that lead to good decision-making as well as those that detract from it. One risk to good decision-making is what’s known as decision fatigue. The term refers to the diminishing quality of our decisions as a result of mental exhaustion.

When we’re in a state of decision fatigue, we tend to employ mental shortcuts, avoid making decisions, procrastinate, or make impulsive choices. As you can imagine, none of these tendencies contribute to sound decision-making at the board level.

Taking steps to prevent or minimize decision fatigue in the boardroom is one thing we can all do to improve the decisions that our boards are making.

Making Decisions is Hard Work

We sometimes don’t realize just how demanding it is to make decisions, both cognitively and emotionally. Whether we’re aware of it or not, each decision requires us to undergo a process that can be at times, difficult, complex, and upsetting. The process generally involves identifying the decision, determining goals, gathering information, identifying and evaluating options, and selecting the preferred option. Struggling with any step can interfere with the entire process.

Going through that process uses up our mental energy. In many cases, we need to go back and forth between the different steps before we end up with a decision. When a decision involves complexity, uncertainty, and has potentially serious consequences, that makes it all the more difficult.

Because it’s a demanding process, making decisions depletes the cognitive resources that we call on to process information and exert self-control. When decisions are difficult, or we have to make several decisions in a row, making good decisions becomes more and more difficult until we’ve had a chance to mentally recharge.

A tired brain naturally searches for mental shortcuts — such as the confirmation bias, which makes us favor information in a way that confirms our preexisting beliefs. So if we’re tired or sleep-deprived before the meeting even starts, it’s hard for us to process information and we’re susceptible to errors of logic, cognitive biases, and unconscious assumptions.

Our emotions — especially negative emotions like anger or fear — also get in the way and weaken our ability to make good decisions. In an internal struggle between emotion and reason, decision fatigue gives emotion the upper hand.

Decision fatigue impacts our ability to consider risks as well. As we calculate the risks and rewards of a course of action, there’s a constant interplay between the emotional and rational parts of our brains. The emotional brain badly wants immediate rewards. The rational brain is where our willpower and self-control come from, giving us the ability to take a long-term perspective in evaluating risks and rewards. When decision fatigue weakens our self-control, we’re more likely to give in to impulsive choices.

Where does intuition fit?

Using intuition requires less effort than using analytical reasoning. As a result, fatigue can lead us to rely more on our intuition than we would if we were rested and energized. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — relying on intuition, a hunch, or a gut feeling is not inherently good or bad, depending on the situation.

Surprisingly enough, research suggests that, long before our rational brain consciously recognizes a problem, our emotional brain gives us a warning. That means that it’s not a good idea to ignore gut feelings. Still, it’s fair to say that in a boardroom context, using intuition is a complement to, not a replacement for, analytical reasoning. The key is recognizing which one is at play and finding the right balance.

Manage Your Brain’s Resources

I’ve read that, on an average day, we make about 35,000 separate decisions. Whether or not you find that number believable, the point is we make choices all day long — many are minor, but some are far more significant. They add up, and over time we get fatigued and our ability to make good decisions is hampered. The more complex your work, the more likely you are to experience cognitive overload and decision fatigue.

One thing we can do as individuals is build protective measures into our daily lives to make decision fatigue less likely and more manageable.

• Operate on autopilot. Eliminate unnecessary decision-making by sticking to routines and paring down choices in your everyday life. Don’t waste your cognitive resources on decisions like what to wear, where to shop, or when to complete your household chores.
• Let someone else do it. Do you really have to make all the decisions, or can you delegate some of them and conserve your mental energy?
• Get some sleep. When you’re sleep-deprived, you’re more prone to poor impulse control and you’ll have more trouble regulating your emotions.
• Move around. Exercise is good for your brain, especially as you get older.
• Make time for self-care. Having a self-care routine in place can help you manage stress and prevent decision fatigue.
• Enjoy some downtime. Give your brain a chance to go offline for a while — whether that means watching TV, meditating, or taking a long walk.

What the Board Can Do

There are several things the board can do to protect against decision fatigue in the boardroom.

Hold early meetings. We make better decisions earlier in the day. Schedule meetings and critical decision-making to take advantage of that fact.

Front-load decision-making. Rather than starting a board meeting with routine items, flip the sequence so that significant decisions happen first.

Feed people. The brain is better at avoiding decision fatigue when supplied with glucose to restore willpower and strengthen self-control. Boards can help directors manage and maintain blood sugar levels with healthy snacks and drinks.

Take breaks. For any meeting that lasts more than 90 minutes, build break time into the agenda. This applies to virtual meetings as well as in-person.

Schedule decisions over the year. Rather than squeeze several key decisions into one meeting, schedule them over the course of the board’s annual cycle. A board calendar is a useful tool to make this happen.

Spread out decision-making. To give directors soak time and allow them to recharge, consider spreading a complex decision over more than one meeting, or even scheduling a special meeting.

Focus on important decisions. Don’t waste energy on trivial decisions. Conserve cognitive resources for the things that really matter.

Avoid unnecessary decisions. Be clear about which decisions fall under the board’s purview. Let management deal with the rest (but insist on staying informed.)

Use decision tools. Decision-making models and tools such as decision trees and decision matrices help directors use their rational brains and avoid over-reliance on emotions and intuition.

Look Out for Decision Fatigue

As with many aspects of being a savvy director, self-awareness is key. Detecting decision fatigue is an important first step in beating it. If you notice yourself wanting to give into impulse — “Just decide, already.” — or falling prey to biases — “I already know what we should do.” — you’re probably in a state of decision fatigue.

With practice we can consciously take note of what's happening in our emotional brains. It pays to cultivate self-awareness and notice our emotions in real time, especially feelings of excitement or fear. By reflecting on how our moods influence our decisions, we can become more effective at making use of gut feelings.

Not everyone in the boardroom experiences decision fatigue at the same rate. Still, chances are that, if you’ve noticed your own decision fatigue, at least some of your fellow directors are feeling the same. The best thing you can do at that moment is ask for a break. This is your opportunity to recharge your brain. Stand up, stretch, walk around, go outside if possible. Grab a bite to eat and something to drink. As a last resort, suggest that the decision be deferred.

Your takeaways:

• Making decisions depletes our mental energy. When we have to make hard decisions or many decisions in a row, it results in decision fatigue.
• Decision fatigue makes us susceptible to biases, errors in reasoning, negative emotions, and poor impulse control.
• Decision fatigue makes us more apt to rely on intuition. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as long as we balance it with rational thinking.
• We can proactively take steps to prevent decision fatigue, or at least minimize its effects.
• As an individual, you can recharge your cognitive batteries through tactics such as eliminating unnecessary decisions, delegating to others, getting plenty of sleep, and enjoying some downtime.
• A board of directors can reduce the impact of decision fatigue by keeping directors hydrated and nourished, adjusting agendas to make decisions early in the day, and spreading key decisions over the course of the year.

Resources:

• 8 Signs of Decision Fatigue and How to Cope. Cleveland Clinic. June 2023.
• Why do we make worse decisions at the end of the day? Dan Pilat and Dr. Sekoul Krastev. © 2024 The Decision Lab.
• Why It’s Hard to Make Decisions (Especially Good, Fast Ones). Itamar Shatz, PhD. © 2024 Effectiviology.
• How to Make Decisions: A Guide for When You Can’t Choose. Itamar Shatz, PhD. © 2024 Effectiviology.
• Decision and Desire. Gardiner Morse. Harvard Business Review. January 2006.
• Self-Care for the Stressed-Out Director. Scott Baldwin. The Savvy Director. June 2020.
• Decisions, Decisions. Scott Baldwin. The Savvy Director. December 2023.

Thank you.

Scott

Scott Baldwin is a certified corporate director (ICD.D) and co-founder of DirectorPrep.com – an online membership with practical tools for board directors who choose a growth mindset.

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