Strategic Decision-Making for the Public Sector Professional: Knowledge, Skills and Tools for Superior Outcomes

“Nicholls Consulting Services made me think about my goals and current decision making processes and the tools provided gave me a good framework to make better decisions both personally and professionally. I’ll definitely be using the Checklist”

       -Sarah Schultz, Business Manager, Northern Territory Ombudsman’s Office

Course Overview

Good decision-making is the foundation of individual and organisational success. But what is a good decision and how do you know that you’ve made one? Ultimately, the only thing over which any of us have control are the decisions that we make. And yet, decision-making is something in which few of people are trained.

This course is designed to provide participants with knowledge, skills and tools to make better decisions. As the environment in public sector organisations operate becomes more complex, uncertain and fiscally constrained, the need for individuals and organisations to make good decisions is more important than ever.

Limits on time and resources, however, mean that busy professionals simply do not have time to study the science of decision-making; or investigate the latest, evidence-based research on how to maximise the probability of achieving good outcomes by improving decision quality.

Drawing on insights from the field of Decision Analysis (pioneered at Stanford and Harvard Universities), this workshop provides participants with a practical, working knowledge of how to begin making better decisions immediately; knowledge which can be used to improve their individual performance, add value and contribute to their organisation’s ability to achieve its objectives.

To learn more about the program, see the Course Details section below.

To preview the course, click Preview Course

To discuss how this program can provide professionals within your agency with a practical, working knowledge of how to begin making better decisions immediately, and more effectively contribute to your organisation’s ability to achieve its objectives, feel free to get in touch with us for an informal chat. 

PREVIEW COURSE book a free 15 minute discovery session

Course Details

Benefits to participants

Decision-making is a skill. Like any other, it can be developed over time with the right information, training and practice. In addition to providing participants with information that can assist them to make better decisions in their current role, this course will provide those who go through it with a decision-making framework that can be used to make better decisions in their personal lives.

Benefits to participants' organisation

Completion of this course will benefit participants’ agency by providing them with knowledge, skills and tools which are needed to ensure that their short, medium and longer-term decisions are consistently aligned with their agency’s vision, mission, goals, mandate and values.

What participants will receive

✓ A full day of engaging, interactive training that will enable them to begin making better professional and personal decisions immediately

✓ A fully referenced, practical, 10,000-word E-Book that can be used to help guide their decision-making well into the future

✓ Strategic Decisions and Recommendations: Process and Checklist – a highly effective tool for those who are regularly confronted with decisions of significant importance

✓ Certificate of completion

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

✓ Approach future decisions with an understanding of what constitutes a high-quality decision

✓ Contribute more effectively to their organisation’s capacity to achieve its objectives through higher quality decision-making

✓ Improve the quality of their professional and personal decisions by developing their ‘decision fitness’

✓ Improve their individual performance and add value to their organisation by consistently making better decisions

Course Structure
  • Why Develop Your Decision-Making Skills and What is a High-Quality Decision?
  • What’s the Problem? The Centrality and Importance of Framing
  • Achieving Objectives: The Power of Alignment and Critical Action
  • Generating Creative, High Quality Options
  • Creating a Solid Foundation: The Importance and Value of Good Information
  • Strategic Decision-Making in the Real World: Tips and Tools for Superior Results
Who Should Attend

This course is designed primarily for public sector professionals who are interested in acquiring practical knowledge, skills and tools to make better decisions in their professional and personal lives. It is, however, particularly useful for those who are expected to:

  • Write and prepare briefs
  • Provide advice or formulate policy options/recommendations for managers, executives and other senior decision-makers
  • Perform in a project role
  • Undertake project planning
  • Perform in a policy or advisory role
  • Undertake policy analysis and/or strategic planning
  • Successfully deliver project outcomes.

Duration
Equivalent 1 Full Day

Prerequisites
Basic English

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