A500.4.3.RB_WilsonGregory

I find it fascinating the realization that her assumptions bring to mind. That making my own choice, a “right” that we have self-appointed to ourselves here in America, can actually lead to stress and poor decision making. It’s interesting the study that she makes, showing that American kids performed better when they had the right to choose, but that Asian-American kids performed best when they were told their mother’s chose for them. The balance for Americans, then, seems to be that the ability to chose helps us to feel empowered and obligated to perform well, but too many options can be overwhelming leading to uncertainty, poor performance and/or regret.

I have to agree with her entirely. When I was in the military, being appointed assignments would give me premise to complain, but I performed. When I left the military, I had to start making my own decisions about everything, which added a certain pressure and stress to life. I had to perform harder, or with more intent and focus, than ever before. I felt obligated to ensure that my decisions yielded the best results. Many of my peers made bad decisions, and were better off probably staying in the service, as their performance was better having fewer choices and options. They no longer had a community to help them make choices, nor were they used to the pressure of having to decide.

I agree with Dr. Iyengar in her first two assumptions. I do, however, have a hard time entirely grasping the third. Is she stating that sometimes it’s best not make a decision at all, after properly understanding the full implications and repercussions of a choice? I agree with her in the sense that choice is a matter of perception, as depicted by her experiment with the finger nail polish at the end of the lecture. I also agree with her that there are assumptions made in choice making.

Some impacts this could have on leadership are to the leader and the subordinate. So the leader, perhaps in leadership, our choices fall into one of the three assumptions. That we have to choice, that more options are best, and that we must make our own choices. When in reality, perhaps making those choices on our own are adding stresses and poor decisions. Perhaps too many options is not a good thing.

Lastly, as we work with our subordinates, perhaps giving them too many options is a poor choice by the leader. Also, letting the subordinate feel empowered to make their own decision, may lead to them perform better than if everything were assigned to them. With these two points alone, if applied, a leader could see an improvement in performance and workplace environment.