How do you make good decisions under pressure?

Under pressure, a Pressure Reflex often makes the decision before you do. Better decisions start with knowing which one is deciding. That's the core idea behind the work of Deano Sutter, founder of Pressure Reflex™ Leadership Training System: when the pressure hits, a trained version of you takes over, and it decides like an emergency responder.

You know this moment

The client leans back. "Honestly, the price is too high."

You have about 10 seconds.

You hear yourself say, "We can probably do something on that. Say, 20 percent?"

You didn't plan to discount. You hadn't even decided you wanted the deal at a lower number.

Something else decided for you.

Why do smart leaders make bad decisions under pressure?

Because under pressure, smart isn't the one deciding.

Your brain is always asking one question: am I safe? When a moment reads as a threat, it calls in an emergency responder, a Pressure Reflex. And a responder doesn't weigh options. It protects you, fast, the way it was trained to.

Pressure doesn't remove your options. A Pressure Reflex takes away your access to them.

Who's making the decision?

Each Pressure Reflex makes a predictable kind of decision.

• The Defender digs in on the original plan, because changing course feels like admitting you were wrong.
• The People Pleaser says yes to whatever keeps everyone happy.
• The Dodger decides to decide later.
• The Ringmaster overrides the team and makes the call alone.
• The Short-Circuiter freezes, and the decision gets made by default.
• The Performer picks the option that will look best.
• The Overexplainer spends the meeting justifying instead of deciding.
• The Fortress Builder decides without asking anyone for input.

Everyone experiences all 8 at some point. Most people have 2 or 3 that show up far more than the rest. Those are the ones making most of your pressured decisions.

Is it bad to decide fast under pressure?

Not in a real emergency. If the building is on fire, you want someone who decides in a second. That's what the responders are built for.

The trouble is false alarms. A pricing question. A board member's pushback. A deadline that moved. Nothing is actually in danger, but your alarm reads it as a threat, and a responder makes a fast, protective call for a moment that needed a thoughtful one. That's a false alarm.

What does it cost you?

A pressured yes on price can cost you more than the deal is worth.

And the calls add up. People stop bringing you the hard decisions, or they learn how to push you into the easy ones. Your repeated reactions become your reputation.

How do you make better decisions under pressure?

Know your predominant Pressure Reflexes. If yours is The People Pleaser, your risky decisions are yeses. If it's The Dodger, they're delays. Knowing which one shows up for you tells you what to watch for.

Notice the tell. Your reaction is bigger than the moment. When a simple question gets a big, fast answer, a responder is probably deciding.

Update the alarm. Recognition buys you a moment. Lasting change comes from retraining the Pressure Reflex itself, so the moments that don't need a responder stop calling one in. That's the work of Pressure Reflex Training.

"He helped me get rid of the blocks, make choices I was proud of, and pick the company that aligned with me best - and it felt incredible."

Dino Hainline, Creative Strategist, Writer and Composer

Good decisions under pressure start with knowing who's making them.