Thriving in a World of Decision Fatigue

"Modern leaders live in a constant state of decision-making. From strategic pivots to the daily grind of emails, meals, and meetings, each choice consumes energy. When too many choices pile up, there's a depletion of mental resources, what psychologist call decision fatigue. Yet organizations demand decision velocity, the ability to move fast and act with conviction. The tension between when to slow down and when to speed up is one of the distinguishing features of leadership today."

"Sebastian Page, the Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price, with $1.7 trillion in assets under management, and author of The Psychology of Leadership, believes that psychology offers underused tools for navigating the decision dilemma. While psychology is often associated with clinical issues like depression or anxiety, Page draws on psychology's positive side, its powerful body of research on thriving, engagement, and ultra-high performance. He believes it's time to move this science from the lab into the boardroom."

"Leaders themselves often feel the weight of decision-making, which not only harms their organizations but also leads to burnout. One of the first obstacles leaders face is the sheer volume of decisions, many of them trivial but which nevertheless drain energy. What shirt to put on, what to eat for lunch, whether to exercise-each of these small moments chips away at mental stamina."

Leaders operate amid nonstop decisions, from strategic pivots to routine choices, which cumulatively deplete mental energy and cause decision fatigue. Organizations often demand rapid decision velocity, creating tension about when to speed up or slow down. Positive psychology offers evidence-based practices to boost thriving, engagement, and high performance that can be applied in leadership contexts. Widespread employee disengagement reduces productivity, morale, and increases turnover while leaders risk burnout under decision overload. Small daily choices consume willpower, diminishing capacity for high-stakes decisions. Thriving leadership requires meaning, long-term vision, deliberate habits for well-being, and strategic patience when ambiguity and risk are high.

Read at Psychology Today