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In this video, Prof. Baba Shiv of Stanford University talks about the importance of emotion in decision making. After watching this video, reflect on two situations; one, in which you were extremely confident of the outcome and what your attitude was towards the subject; and second, a situation in which you would less confident or not so confident and how you felt about the situation. Based on this module's readings and this video write a reflection blog detailing the situations above and describing the role emotion plays in decision making.  Identify three emotional reactions for each scenario. 

I find myself to be a very emotional decision maker, In some cases, it is the downside of my leadership skills and on the upside, the reason why I think I'm a good leader. The video discussed the confidence that people should show when they're making a decision. According to Prof. Shiv, you want to be confident for your followers, that way there is an instilled sense of follower-ship and direction. People who tend to give direction without confidence are less able to get people to believe in their success.

For my first example, I wanted to share a time when I was successful because of my confidence. When I was in boot camp, there was an opportunity for a select group of individuals to go before a performance board to show why we thought we were the best sailors in our graduating class. We were selected prior to the board by our division leaders as outstanding candidates. When I got to the board, most of the other candidates seemed to be very worried about the procedure and intimidated of the people on the selection board. They had talked themselves out of being successful before they even got the chance to prove themselves. When I went for review, I was extremely confident and happy to have the opportunity. Although I made an error, I apologized and carried on as if it were no issue. Much to my happiness, I was selected for the second highest award at boot camp. The others that had no confidence, left the board one at a time, the same way they came in, unsure about themselves.

The second situation was when I was less confident and I wasn't as successful. During my training as an air traffic controller, there comes a time when you are given the chance to become a supervisor. These chances come after your trainers feel as though you showcase enough control and leadership to handle a facility all on your own. When given the chance, you are sat down in a room with your superiors and they ask you a ton of procedural questions to see how you'd respond. When I was given my first chance, there happen to be double the amount of people in the meeting do to the turnover of personnel. There were people observing the meeting so they could learn how to be on the board. When the meeting began, i was told that everyone in the room would be now participating and asking more detailed questions. For some reason, that threw me for a loop and I immediately got very un-confident and shaky. As soon as the first question was asked, I was shuddering and I couldn't recall any of the information I had studied.  I must have looked foolish but I didn't show any confidence and I didn't trust myself. I felt at that time, like I had given up. I failed that board and went back and studied for a week more. I then passed because I knew what to expect and I then knew what was required of me. 

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The Cynefin framework this week really helped me see the way in which I've made decision in the past and it has helped me see how I can make more informed decisions moving forward. In the outline we were introduced to four different ways that a manger/leader can handle different situations; chaotic, simple, complex, and complicated. Each on of those situations calls for a unique interpretation and input from the leader. For this assignment, I am going to give two examples of my experience and how this framework helped me, or hurt me along the way.

First, the simple framework is revolved around "known-knows". This means that there are clear patterns and outlines that people follow and adhere to. In the simple platform, people tend to give direction and then follow it. There isn't a whole lot of variation involved. For my first example, I wanted to focus on my younger years in the Navy. When you're new to any job, in my case the Navy, there isn't a lot of wiggle room on the things you are privy to. When I first entered the Navy, there was a very simple leadership line formed. We knew exactly where we were suppose to be and we knew what was expected of us. There wasn't to much opinion based thinking or leadership for that matter. We were there to get a job done and get it done one way.

Secondly, I wanted to focus on a situation where I was exposed to a complex situation. While I was working air traffic over seas, we were given direction and outlines for what was expected of us, but we were not aware that there was room for adjustment on our part. As time passed, we found that sometimes we have to adjust and focus our attention on thinking outside the box in dealing with unique situations. In a complex situation, there are higher levels of interaction and communication and in my case, in order to be successful, we had to utilize those tools everyday. Last, there is a time for reflection and correction in a complex situation. In the case of fast paced air traffic control, we would always think about the ways things could have been improved or bettered.

The thing I took away from this week is that we are always going to need to know how to deal with situations and apply our leadership knowledge effectively. I now know that we make decision based on unknown situations and past experiences and assumptions. It will be interesting moving forward to determine how each situation applies to the Cynefin framework and apply my gained knowledge in the matter.

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For this week, I want to share the situation that lead to a decision making process. As my time in the Navy was nearing an end (4 1/2 years in), I began to contemplate what my options moving forward would be. Would I elect to stay in or would I move on and seek employment as a civilian? As I thought about this more and more, I thought it would be good to seek outside input (stakeholders). I thought that by bringing these other people and their opinions on board, I would feel more comfortable with the end result. If everyone was in agreement, how could anyone one party be upset if things were done how we had discussed. It came down to my family and the girl I was dating at the time's input but ultimately the decision was mine to make. The secondary influences was the command I was at in the Navy and the people there and how they thought about me. I only say that because had the people there tried a little harder, it wouldn't have made my choice to get out so easy. It was as if I didn't matter that much to the Navy (which is true, its very large and keep going without you). So when all was said and done, I separated and moved on into the civilian side of things.

Now if the people involved would have shared different opinions or observations with me, I would have not been so quick to make my decision. I actually made my decision a year in advance, that way I knew exactly what I was going to do and it ensured that I had enough time to get ready for the transition. The people involved, that helped me, were important people to me at that time, but they obviously have their own lives to think about and what I did with mine was for me to decide, not them. I question sometimes what would have happened the other way around.

Looking back at it now, I could have looked at a few things in a different light. I could have weighed the option of early retirement a little sooner and I could have looked at the free education I would continue to get and how that could have shaped by choices. I don't spend any time looking back and telling myself I made an error, because all of the choices I've made up until now have shaped who I am and what kind of a leader I am. I don't personally think there is anyone else who could have said anything to change the overall outcome. I made the choice and I moved in that direction full steam. Everything worked out for the best and I have the amazing life I have now. In the end, that decision making process showed me that I need to weigh the pros and cons in every situation before making a long term decision, that I need to trust the people around me, but ultimately that I need to trust my faith and my discretion above anything else. After all, it isn't up to anyone else to decide for you!