How to embrace the paradox of control

Despite business decision-making being fraught with uncertainty, leaders often operate under an illusion of control. They believe they can predict and assess the exact outcomes of their decisions, underestimating the unpredictability that characterises dynamic markets and segments.

Many individuals fall into this major trap and, in doing so, play down how chance and randomness affect  success, such as in emerging Asia’s volatile growth setting – often with serious business consequences.

Many leaders compound this tendency by seeking the perceived security of business models they expect will make sound predictions, forgetting these approaches are often based on the past and not always robust for future planning.

This context – where individuals drive present and future company performance based on supposedly full-proof understanding of how personal decisions will play out – poses a defining question to both companies and their management teams. That is: how can leaders let go of controlling – and inhibiting – tendencies, without completely losing control?

Psychological biases, such as  overconfidence and anchoring, and emotional barriers, like greed and hope, are strongly ingrained in our personalities.  

This means such biases and barriers often affect business decisions of critical importance. This can impede the broad view by which decisions should be informed.