J is for… Judgement

Good Judgement Skills are part of your decision-making skills and can be defined as:

the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions

Good judgement is important if you are applying for a managerial or executive role (or if you want to show that you can take on / be promoted into this sort of role). From an employers perspective corporate values and considerations will need to be included in your decisions. (See also Decision Making Skills)

How do you show you have good judgement skills?

You will need to be able to demonstrate and display your decision-making and good judgement when making decisions in your day-to-day job. Where possible show that you have gathered all relevant information before making a judgement and remain unbiased when making that decision. Judgements should be made on facts and objective data not the opinions of those around you and it is important to show you have sound judgement – without being influenced.

Skill Development Plan

1. Learn to make better decisions with practice and training.

When making decisions based on judgement you should:

• consider all aspects in the complexity of issues
• learn from your own mistakes (and the mistakes of others)
• consider the known outcomes
• Think “outside the box”
• consider your previous experience and knowledge of the issues

Action Point:  make a written note in your career journal of key learning points of all decisions you make (or observe).

2. Reduce Bias

Bias can influence judgement – to show good judgement you should try to show that you are not influenced and try to eliminate or reduce the impact of bias. You can do this by being aware of the possibility that you might be biased and identifying the source and taking it out of the equation.