A632.9.3.RB - Shuck, Allison

The Role of Emotion in Decision Making

Unfortunately, there have been many instances through my life where my emotions have driven my decisions; especially as a young girl. I have to say that as I get older, my decisions are less effected by my emotions, or not as effected as they were in the past. However, I sometimes still let me emotions get the best of me.

One instance when I lost control of my emotions was when I failed my statistics exam. I had been studying for days and could not understand why I did so poorly. After receiving my grade, I decided to go see my boyfriend, hoping that he would make me feel better. But, on my way home from my boyfriend’s house, I started crying hysterically; I was so upset, I could not function! And, on top of that I was not paying attention to what I was doing, thus I failed to yield to an emergency vehicle at a four way stop.  Consequently, I got into a car accident and it was all my fault. Needless to say, the outcome of this situation did not end well.

Another instance when I lost control of my emotions was when I found out that my younger sister was physically abusing herself. We were on a cruise and she was in her bathing suit; I looked down at her legs and noticed scares. As I began to ask her about it, she closed up and started crying. My fear for her well being made me frantic and as a result, I lashed out and embarrassed her. She begged me to stop talking about it and so it did. It wasn’t until we got home from the cruise that my sister agreed to talk to me about it. She expressed that she was hurt by others all of her life because she was overweight and that cutting herself made the pain momentarily go away. After hearing this, I knew that I had to do everything in my power to help my sister; my first thought was that she needs to see a therapist.  Unfortunately, my sister did not have insurance, so I began reviewing my employee benefits to see what I could do. Luckily, Embry Riddle offers a program called EAP (Employee Assistant Program), where any member of my family, living within my household can use the benefit; so I had my sister move in and she got the help she needed. To this day, I am confident that my sister is on the road to recovery.

In both of these situations, I let my emotions cloud my judgment; I reacted out of character and hurt myself and others as a result. Luckily, in the second situation, I was able to make up for my emotional response by getting my sister the help she needed. 

A632.8.3.RB - Shuck, Allison

Reflections on the Cynefin Framework

After reading the article “A leader’s framework for decision making” from the Harvard Business Review, I have found three ways in which the Cynefin Framework can help a leader think more critically. One, it can help a leader develop new perspectives 2) it can help a leader embrace complexity and 3) it can help a leader address real-world problems. Given the fact that all situations are different form one another, it is important for a leader to be able to classify each situation in relation to the four categories identified in the Cynefin Framework: Simple, Complicated, Complex and Chaotic. By understanding the categories within the Cynefin Framework, leaders can identify the context of the problem, and began to determine how to handle it.

For example: one complex problem that I had to deal with was when I found out my sister was pregnant. Being that my sister is only 20 years old, has not finished school, and has yet to make a life for herself, I became overwhelmed. Unfortunately, situations like this are normal in my family and for some reason, they always seem to run to me for help. However, this problem was not so easy to solve. I knew that the decision to keep the baby was not mine to make. So instead, I did what any rational sister would do; I gave my sister all of her options. As I began to probe my sister’s reaction, I could sense that she did not want to have an abortion or give the baby up for adoption; she had every intention on keeping the baby. Once I knew of her intentions, I responded by helping her prepare for the hard, difficult life ahead of her.

Another example I can use to demonstrate a category within the Cynefin Framework, would be I can across the following complicated situation. While working at Security Financial Management, I was offered the job of Assistant Investment Representative, when the current Assistant Investment Representative decided to resign. Well, due to the fact that I was a full time student at the time, I felt the job would hinder my ability to make good grades; thus, I declined the offer. However, it wasn’t until the new Assistant Investment Representative was hired that I knew I had made a mistake; I instantly became jealous of her, angry that she was making more money than me for a job that I was training her how to do. 

Well, let’s just say that my anger got the best of me and I sent her a spiteful email, in response to the documents she put on my desk. The email message went something like this… “I expect you to complete the documents before you hand them to me for imaging”. Right after I sent the email, I knew it wasn’t going to go over well, and, just as I though it didn’t. The next day, I could since that she was mad or confused about the meaning of my email. However, before I could talk to her about my feelings, I had to analyze the situation and determine the reason behind why I felt the way I did. Once I gathered my thoughts, I approached her and asked her “if she was mad at me”. Oh course, she said no, but then began to question the intent of my email. As we began talking, I explained that I was jealous and upset at myself for declining the position. As I expressed myself, she began to understand my position and forgave me; to this day, we are still really good friends.

Just as a mentions in this week’s discussion board, the easy solutions are not always the best solutions when it comes to making difficult, life altering decisions. Sometimes, it is beneficial to step back and analyze the situation before responding. In other situations, “searching for the right answer can become pointless: whereas, the relationship between the cause and effect is simply unattainable” (Shuck, 2013). In any situation, it is helpful to gain an understanding the context of the situation in order to improve one’s decision making. As a point of reference, I have listed 5 ways in which the Cynefin Framework has help me improve my decisions:

1. Don’t underestimate complexity – meaning, don’t assume that thing are easy, just because they appear to be. 
2. Understand your constraints – if the information is not there, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
3. Think outside of the box – use your imagination to explore your options.
4. Self-Mediate – set aside time for reflection
5. Prepare for uncertainty – don’t get bogged down when you cannot find a solution.

A632.7.4.RB - Shuck, Allison

Collaborative Decision Making

Collaboration can be an effective means for finding a resolution. There is a lot of significant in obtaining advice and/or seeking counsel from a friend when making an important, life altering decision. For example, before when I was trying to decide whether I should take the position with Embry Riddle, I struggled for days. It wasn’t until I decided to contact my friend Wally for advice, that I reached a resolution.

Wally helped me outline the pros and cons of changing jobs. He told me that I needed to let go of my fear and consider all possible options; so that is exactly what I did. However, before I began, Wally told me that I had to start by determined what I wanted from my job: what type of environment, benefits, and salary, extra. Then, he told me to determine the risks if I were to leave and/or if I were chose to stay.  Once I determined the risks, he told me I could then began to list the pros and cons of each position.

Wally seemed to have his own a vision of resolution, much like the one I highlighted in the discussion board from Levin (2009). He helped me formulate a desirable outcome by giving me the advice I needed to work through my internal conflict. He helped me too: create a vision, address specific concerns/fears I had about each position, re-evaluate or adjust my vision according to my expectations, determine if my vision was workable, and bring light to what was missing; things I did not consider. Although Wally’s option of working for Embry Riddle was construed due to his job and the dismantle of the Space Shuttle Program, that did not prevent him from helping me create a vision of the future.

According to Levine (2009) “you collaborate in language by making implicit agreements (taking to yourself about what you think the agreement is) and explicit agreements (discussing the agreement with others)”. In the case, I reinforced my decision to take the job at Embry Riddle by discussing the situation with Wally and obtaining his input. To this day, I cannot think of anyone else more equip to give me advice, especially when the decision involves my career. Wally has always looked out for me and has always had my best interest at heart.

Overall, the lessons Wally taught me: letting go of my fear and considering all possible options, determining if my vision is workable and bring light to what is missing will help me when making difficult decisions in the future.

Reference

Levine, S. (2009). Getting to resolution: Turning conflict into collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers