Latest / The Strength Catalyst / Confidence Without Certainty

Transcript

Confidence Without Certainty · The Strength Catalyst

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to Introspective Moments.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Colleen Baseli, an executive coach and a strength strategist.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Each week I'll spend just a few minutes exploring one strength to use our strengths with greater intention and to notice how they shape our work, our relationships, and our everyday lives.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Introspective Moments.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'd like to talk about judgment.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: When we think about someone who has good judgment, we might imagine someone who seems to know the right answer, someone who is decisive, confident, certain.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: But here's something I've learned over the years.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Good judgment requires confidence without certainty.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because most of the decisions that really matter don't come with guarantees.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: We gather information, we consider the facts, we listen to other perspectives, and eventually we have to decide, even though we can't know exactly how things will turn out.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: My niece Julie reminded me of this.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Julie will tell you that she can sometimes hesitate over everyday decisions.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: What's for dinner, what to do over the weekend, wanting to consider all the options.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: I get that.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: But recently, she faced a parenting decision that felt much more consequential.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Her daughter had reached an age when many of her friends were getting phones and smartwatches.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Parents around Julie were debating the pros and cons, and some questioned why her daughter didn't have a device too.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: So Julie thought carefully about what mattered most to her: her daughter's safety and health, the development of strong interpersonal and social skills, and her family's values and priorities.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And once she was clear about what mattered, the decision became clear too.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Her daughter wouldn't get a phone or smartwatch yet.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, Julie and her husband gave her an old school watch with features like a stopwatch and decided that a phone could come in eighth grade.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Even when other parents made different choices, Julie didn't second guess hers.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: But she couldn't know with certainty how the decision would turn out.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: But she had enough information and enough clarity about what mattered to trust her judgment.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Her daughter accepted the decision.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: She even started saving toward the phone she would eventually get.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, she and her friends began using the stopwatch on her watch to time themselves at recess.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: What I love about Julie's story is that she wasn't able to see into the future.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: None of us can.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: She simply made the best decision she could with the information she had and what mattered most to her.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Good judgment requires confidence without certainty.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Judgment is the strength of assessing a situation, considering the evidence and facts, and reaching a decision that you feel confident can stand up to challenge.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And here's something coaching has taught me.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Being confident in a decision isn't the same as being certain about its outcome.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Confidence says, I've considered what I know and I'm ready to decide.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Certainty, however, can tempt us to say, I've decided, so I don't need to reconsider.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's an important difference because good judgment doesn't end the moment we make a decision.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: We keep paying attention, we notice what happens, we listen when new information emerges.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: And when circumstances change, sometimes our thinking should change too.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Adam Grant explores this idea in his book Think Again.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: He writes about the importance of questioning what we think we know and being willing to reconsider our conclusions when new information warrants it.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's an important part of good judgment.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Changing your mind when the information changes isn't poor judgment.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's evidence of good judgment.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: But knowing that doesn't always make decision making easy.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like every strength, judgment can be both underplayed and overplayed.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you tend to underplay judgment, you may recognize the feeling of wanting just one more piece of information before you decide.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So you ask another person, you read another article, you might revisit the pros and cons.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes that additional information helps, but sometimes you're seeking something no amount of information can give you certainty.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And at some point, good judgment asks us to decide.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: At the same time, if judgment comes naturally to you, you may reach conclusions quickly and confidently.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: The overplay can happen when that confidence turns into attachment.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: You've made your decision, you've explained your reasoning, and then new information arrives that suggests you might want to reconsider.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Can you stay curious enough to hear it?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Can you change your mind without feeling that doing so means your original judgment was wrong?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Trust your judgment without becoming attached to being right.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the balance I invite you to notice this week.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Think about a decision that's been occupying your mind.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Do you truly need more information?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or do you already have enough to make a thoughtful decision and move forward?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: And once you decide, can you trust your judgment while remaining open to what you learn?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a deck of introspective cards, you might pull out the judgment card this week.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Its question asks, what decision can I make with confidence today, even if I'm unsure of the outcome?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's one decision in your life right now where you don't need certainty.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: You simply need enough information to take the next thoughtful step.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for spending these few minutes with me, and until next time, take a few moments to be introspective and notice what changes.