How bad is bad judgment? Well, it depends on the situation because some decisions are less impactful than others. Worse case, bad judgment can destroy a leader’s influence!
The Essentials
Really bad, that’s how bad! At least for me.
I mean, my good decisions produce decent outcomes. But, my poor choices produces really bad outcomes.
Thus, the accentuation seems to work more toward the negative than towards the positive! Ok, maybe I’m neurotic!
All that said, what factors can cloud my good judgement? Here’s a starter list:
1). Careless haste due to excessive time pressure
2). Lack of relevant and timely data from which to operate
3). My own cognitive biases, such as leaning heavily on what I heard first
4). Undue influence such as felt pressure from someone I want to impress. Or, some form of a gift or bribe.
Poor character produces poor decisions! proverbsforprofessionals.net
The Precept
Proverbs 21.7 teaches that a devious and godless character is destructive because of the poor judgment it produces. That is, it produces really bad decisions. In turn, that pattern of bad decisions destroys my influence as a leader.
Worse yet, Proverbs 29.4 identifies a relationship between poor decisions by a leader and a willingness to accept influence peddling.
Precept: A leader’s good judgment is perverted by influence peddling. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Apply This Today!
Now, a careful and deliberate decision process can address each of the first three contributors to bad judgment that are listed above.
However, undue influence requires that I exercise integrity as a leader.
Unfortunately, no set of rules (e.g., corporate regulations) can overcome a lack of integrity in a leader. So, ask yourself, how big a payoff will I take in exchange for my integrity?
How bad is bad judgment? I agree that the answer is somewhat situational. However, for a leader the number of low risk decisions seems relatively small. So, decide wisely!
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