7 Steps to Improve Your Judgment

Summary

Have you ever had a situation where you thought, “Wow, I totally misjudged that one.”, when you completely missed the mark on something? Or thought about or said to other people, “Just think about what’s needed and use your best judgment.’, only to be monumentally underwhelmed by what their judgment entailed and what the outcome was? Me neither…

Recently, I was enjoying dinner with friends and the topic turned to subjects of a more professional nature, and the topic of judgment was raised in the context of being both a barrier to and facilitator of ongoing success. We talked through scenarios of difficulty when judgment (by ourselves or someone else) is not applied as we would hope / anticipate, and the benefits available when judgment is applied in an appropriate way.

It got me to thinking about my own interpretation of what judgment is, how well it is understood, how teachable and learnable it is, and the implications of it being applied well or otherwise. One main thought that was prevalent throughout the conversation was from my coaching training with iPEC – I was taught that a good coach does not judge the client, their circumstance, or their beliefs. Suspending all judgment to be fully present is the key to success for a positive coaching relationship, and I firmly believe this to be true.

In this blog, we’ll investigate the topic of judgment as a tool for your own ongoing success and establish some clear strategies you can apply to ensure that you are always at choice in how you build into using your own judgment.

What Judgment Is

As always, I like to start by defining the subject matter to ensure that I’m clear about what you are reading. For the purposes of this blog, judgment is the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing different perspectives or information presented to you. The key here is that it is a process, therefore it is methodical, logical (sometimes), and something that can and will be personal to you. It can also be tweaked to suit the circumstance at hand.

There are situational and contextual components that will be present where you may judge something differently depending on where it occurred and who is involved. The simple analogy for this would be your judgment of circumstances in the workplace versus at home.

At this point I’d encourage you to pause and think about how differently you judge things depending on the situation or context. Are you consistent in your judgment, or for example does one circumstance expose more or less patience and grace than another? If so, consider why that is…

What Judgment Is Not

Judgment can be positive or negative, helpful, or harmful, and will be both situational and contextual to the situation. The following describes the 3 main elements of what judgment is not:

• Assumption: Judging a situation is not the same as making assumptions without proper information or understanding. Judgment involves having perspectives and information
• Criticism: Judgment can often get confused with criticism, which often involves negative connotations. Not all criticism is negative, of course
• Close-mindedness: Judgment involves open-mindedness and a willingness to consider different viewpoints based on the information that you have access to
• True: Even with access to different perspectives and information, and affording yourself appropriate time to make a judgment, this does not automatically mean that your concluding judgment is true and accurate
• The end: Landing on a judgment about a topic is one part of the journey. Testing or validating your judgment afterwards will provide further information on how best to proceed

The act of judging in and of itself is neither good nor bad. It is a normal and regular part of our information processing practice and, if you care to look deeper, contains value-add data and information for you to use as you move forward. What you do with the information from your judgment will determine whether it is positive, negative, can be used for good, or used for evil. The great news is that you get to choose!

Judgment Types

Judgment has more than one persona. Depending on you, your mood, your values, and the emergent circumstances, there can and will be different types of judgment present. The list below briefly describes some key judgment types:

• Snap: Making quick decisions and / or forming opinions without taking (or having) time to gather relevant information or to consider different perspectives
• Value-based: Assessing the worth or importance of something based on your personal values, beliefs, or ethics
• Self-judgment: Evaluating, critiquing, or forming opinions about yourself based on your own internal standards, comparisons, or perceptions. This could be positive or negative (please try to make it positive)
• Social: Creating perceptions based on social norms, societal expectations, cultural expectations, or common stereotypes
• Critical: Analyzing and critiquing to make informed assessments, decisions, or actions
• Aesthetic: Evaluating based on personal preferences or some other form of established criteria
• Legal: Decisions based on the application of laws, regulations, and ethical principles used to assess legal circumstances
• Risk: Assessing potential risks, uncertainties, and consequences to help make proactive decisions
• Intuitive: Quicker decisions based on experience, feelings, instincts, or subconscious cues, rather than via intentional analysis

These types of judgment showcase the diverse ways in which we intake and evaluate information, make decisions, and form opinions in various aspects of our lives. As you can see, it can be multifaceted and most certainly not a one-size-fits-all circumstance.

Do you have more types of judgment that you access or experience on a regular basis?

When We Get Judgment Right

Judgment creates impact. That impact can influence many areas of your life. When we get our judgment right, like most things in life, we typically have a better experience. Below are some areas where we can benefit from ‘good’ judgment:

• Improved relationships: Consistently making accurate and fair judgments can lead to relationships built on trust and understanding
• Effective decision-making: Enabling us to make better decisions based on deliberate and thoughtful analysis, taking consideration of all relevant factors
• Personal growth: Getting judgment right helps cultivate areas of growth such as empathy, open-mindedness, and self-awareness
• Positive contribution and impact: Positively influencing others, inspiring confidence, and contributing to a progressive and harmonious environment

Do you know someone who regularly displays sound judgment in their life? Consider the process they follow to consistently get it right and tap into and adopt areas that might work for you.

When We Get Judgment Wrong

Converse to the areas described in the section above, displaying poor judgment will have a detrimental impact to your life. Whether it is you or someone in your circle who demonstrates poor judgment, there is a ‘cost’ that comes with it, such as:

• Damaged relationships: Poor judgment can strain relationships, generate tension, cause inconvenience, create misunderstandings, and erode trust
• Poor decision-making: Wrong judgments can increase the likelihood of flawed, inappropriate, or just plain bad decisions, create missed opportunities, all leading to negative consequences
• Stagnation: Incorrect or inappropriate judgment will hinder our personal growth, limit perspectives, and prevent us from learning and evolving
• Negative contribution and impact: Leading to conflict, hurt feelings, damage, and a toxic atmosphere

How many of these resonate with you? The importance of honing our judgment skills cannot be understated and is critical in fostering positive outcomes and avoiding (or reducing) detrimental consequences.

7 Steps to Improve Your Judgment

Whether you believe you exact sound judgment the majority (or all) of the time, there is always room for improvement. Consider the following steps that will help you deepen your understanding of your current process and approach to judgment, and where you can make demonstrable and meaningful improvements:

1. Practice empathy: Create time and space to put yourself in other people’s shoes to understand their perspectives before forming your judgment
2. Seek understanding: Ask questions and gather information rather than defaulting to stereotypes or known biases
3. Active listening: This will help you truly understand others’ perspectives
4. Reflect and learn: Evaluate your own (you have a lot of history here, I’m sure), and others’ judgments and learn from past experiences to improve your future experiences
5. Challenge assumptions: Question your own (and others’) assumptions and biases to ensure your judgments are based on facts and evidence as much as possible
6. Consider multiple viewpoints: Incorporate different angles and viewpoints before arriving at your conclusion
7. Seek feedback: Solicit active and regular feedback from others to gain insights

The key is to be in a state of continuous learning which will allow you to be constantly curious and open to onboarding new information, and using this gained knowledge to help enhance your judgment skills as you move forward.

Can Judgment Be Learned?

There is merit to this final section being positioned earlier in the blog, however I wanted to finish off by acknowledging the information shared above to help generate further discussion. Based on your experience to date, do you think that judgment can be learned?

My opinion is yes, judgment can be learned. While I acknowledge that some aspects of judgment can be innate, the ability to make sound judgments can be developed and refined through reflection, self-awareness, learning lessons, and regular practice of the 7 steps described above. Consider how the following areas will aid your learning and growth:

• Education and experience: Exposing yourself to diverse perspectives, education, and real-world experiences can contribute to honing your skills
• Mindfulness and reflection: Practicing mindfulness and reflecting on past judgments can help us learn and make better judgments in the future
• Coaching and mentorship: Seeking guidance from mentors or coaches who specialize or excel in judgment can provide valuable insights and strategies for improvement
• Lifelong process: Improving your judgment is a continuous journey and not a destination. This involves self-reflection, learning from feedback, and adapting to new situations and challenges as they arise

By actively working on enhancing your judgment skills, while embracing growth and learning, you can cultivate a more robust judgment process for you (and others) going forward.

Coach Gaz Challenge: Consider a person in your life who you believe lacks appropriate judgment skills, or a time where you feel you misjudged something. Pick one specific example that resonates with you. Now, apply your learnings from this blog in terms of the different judgment personas and steps to improve your judgment skills – how does that shape or influence what you think and how you feel about their judgment now? Do you have more empathy for their circumstance, do you see where they went wrong, or are you still irritated at their complete lack of skills in this area? I’d love to hear from you on any of these outcomes from this blog.

I’m always open to a conversation on your thoughts, opinions, and experiences on this or any topic in the library. Get in touch by subscribing below, or by using the form on the Book Gary of the site.