Making Decisions That Don't Lead to the Outcomes We Want

I am sure many of you are like me and have spent a decent amount of time the last few days watching the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. It’s been nice to see our state teams have some success under some tough circumstances. I will be honest and say I am not nearly as invested in the outcomes as I was in my younger days-I used to do a lot of yelling at the TV, questioning officials calls (a surprise I know…), and living and dying by the results. Nowadays, I love to watch from the coaching lens-how do coaches handle situations, what is working for teams, how do assistant coaches and players support the game, and other non-traditional views of the game.

One thing I have focused on this year is decision making-when do coaches call time-outs, do you play a player with 2 fouls in the first half, do you foul up 3 late in the game, etc.? For players, decision making involves what shots do I take, when do I pass to an open teammate, how do I react to a bad call, etc.? When you think about it, coaches and players make hundreds of decisions during a game and those decisions are being judged by often times millions of people watching at home, most who have social media and the ability to criticize.

In life, we often judge our decisions based on the outcome. If things go well, we assume we made the right choice. If they don’t, we question ourselves and wonder if we should have done something differently. But the truth is, the quality of a decision isn’t always reflected in the result. Sometimes, the right choice doesn’t lead to the outcome we hoped for—but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right decision at the time.

How can that be-where a decision was the right choice at the time despite not getting the outcome we wanted? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Decisions Are Made with the Best Information Available – We make choices based on what we know in the moment. Hindsight might show us a different path, but that doesn’t mean the original decision was wrong. Coaches and athletes have a split second to make a decision and have to go by the information at the time and then a quick time to process the information.

2. Uncontrollable Factors Play a Role – In sports, business, and life, we can control our effort and preparation, but we can’t control everything else. Sometimes, external factors shift the outcome in unexpected ways. A player may see an open teammate to pass to and throw the pass, but the defense on the weak side wasn’t seen and a pass was intercepted. You can’t control what the other team is doing.

3. Growth Comes from Every Decision – Even when things don’t go as planned, there’s always a lesson to be learned. The experience gained often proves more valuable than the result itself. If I threw a bad pass because I didn’t see the help side defense, I should learn to better read what the other team is doing before I attempt a pass in the future.

4. The Process Matters More Than the Outcome – Championship teams and successful leaders focus on making sound decisions and trusting the process, not just chasing immediate results. The long term prospect should always be in play when making decisions. A coach who takes a player out with 2 fouls in the first half is thinking about the rest of the game and wanting that player to be able to play at full strength the rest of the game.

5. Resilience Comes from Moving Forward – Dwelling on “what ifs” won’t change the past. The best way to respond is to evaluate, adjust, and move forward with confidence. Basketball especially is a sport of transition and needing to “flip the switch”. If a player or coach is still thinking about the previous play, it is bound to affect the next play or numerous plays to come.

I can personally think of a number of situations over the years where I made a decision to do something, did not get the outcome I wanted, but things turned out ok after that. When I retired from education in July, I applied for a position with the state’s athletic director’s association to mentor new AD’s as mentoring was something I wanted to do and despite a lack of experience as an AD, I thought I fit the role. I did not get a position-a number of more highly qualified and experienced AD’s were given the jobs-and it made me rethink what I wanted to do. This led to me reaching out to the Iowa Girls Coaches Association and starting a mentoring program for new coaches-something that has taken off and become a very rewarding part of my life. It all started with a decision that didn’t give me the outcome I was originally looking for!

Have you had a time where a decision you made didn’t get the outcome you wanted at the time but lead to something better because of what you learned from the experience?

Not every great decision leads to a perfect outcome, and not every bad outcome means you made the wrong choice. The key is to make the best decision you can with the information and circumstances at hand—and to trust that, regardless of the result, you’re growing, learning, and moving forward in the right direction. So the next time things don’t turn out as expected, don’t question the decision—focus on the lessons, the process, and the next opportunity ahead. Be like our athletes and coaches-learn from the decision, and flip the switch to the next play! Have a great week!

Coach K