Recently I had the privilege to listen to Satya Nadella speak to a small group of leaders at Microsoft and there was a question Satya was asked about how leaders can step up to the challenges that are ahead of us as leaders. His answer was full of wisdom.
One part of his response was the understated part of leadership which is having good judgment. We are never going to get it right all the time. We will need to practice winning judgment. What is your batting average on winning judgment? He then said this
“You have to do it by practice, it is habit forming … you have to take risky decisions which means passing judgment in uncertainty.”
Satya Nadella
The invitation for me is to be intentional about practicing judgment. Take opportunities pass judgment in a situation where I don’t have all the facts and the future is very uncertain. Sometimes I will get it right and sometimes I will get it wrong. If I continue to practice, I can increase my “batting average”. An accomplished batter in Major League Baseball will hit the ball 33% of the time. If I can improve by degrees, then I can become a better judge and a better leader.
How will you practice judgment?
Pick one thing this week where you feel you need more information to move forward and decide you will move anyway based on the evidence you do have. Write down your feels and experience when you do this.
