Informed Decision-Making: Windows of Perception

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Thomas E. Poulin
June 16, 2025

Public administrators are problem solvers seeking to provide the most effective, efficient and responsive services possible. The more informed they are, the more likely they will be able to make quality decisions that best meet the needs of individuals, the agency and the community. However, decision-making is often inhibited by limited perspectives. How can they improve?

Imagine a two-story house with windows on both floors on all sides. The sides and rear of the house are surrounded by an 8-foot (2.5 meter) privacy fence that blocks the first-floor window views of the side and back yards. The house is on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean to the west. On the north side, far in the distance, are snow-capped mountains. To the south side sits a single-story home with an orange front door. To the east, in front of the house, is a street.

Now, imagine one is in the house looking out a window. If one looks to the north from the first floor, they see the fence. From the second-floor windows, they see the snow-capped mountains. If they look out the windows on the first floor from the rear of the house, they see the fence, but from the second floor, they see the ocean. If they look out the first-floor windows to the south, they will see the fence, with the nearby single-story home visible from the second-floor windows. If they look out the windows at the front of the house, they will see the street with the possibility of the view changing during the day as vehicles drive by, children play and dogs run across the lawn.

Which view is accurate? They all are, at least from the perspective of the window one peers out. On occasion, one encounters those who insist their window and only their window provides an accurate view of the world. They reject the perspectives of others. This is not always done with a rational argument to support their position or the use of questions to determine what might have caused the discrepancies. Instead, it might take the form of denial, ridicule or marginalization of those with differing views. In doing so, they reject available information that could yield a more comprehensive understanding of circumstances.

How does one choose which window to peer through? As the title character states in the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, “no matter where you go, there you are.” They go there based on convenience, looking through windows created by the position they hold. They go there based on comfort, looking through the same windows they have always used. They go there based on disciplinary institutionalism, using the windows their training and education have indoctrinated them to as the only proper windows for their professional fields. No one deliberately attempts to acquire an incomplete perspective; it just happens.

What can be done about this? They need to appreciate that each window provides a unique but limited perspective, and this perspective can be changed by moving from window to window. To achieve this, expanding and enhancing their understanding of circumstances, they must identify means to move from room to room and peer from different windows in turn. In doing so, they must also appreciate that the view might very well change once they have left the window. Alternatively, they might craft and sustain robust communications with those in other rooms, continually asking them to share their perspective on an issue at a given time. They should ask others what they perceive, how it affects them and how they might affect it. This supports a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of an issue, supporting more effective decision-making.

Even with this approach, the fullness of their understanding is limited, given they would be relying only on those within the house with whom they are communicating. Regardless of which window they gather information from, even if they have others looking out of all windows simultaneously, it will be impossible to see what lies across the ocean, beyond the mountains or even something as close as the front door of the nearby home. To be more informed, they will need to develop information sources using external data or personal and professional connections with those outside the agency, querying them about what they see from outside.

This type of issue might be more prevalent in agencies where individuals have worked for a lengthy period, achieving higher positions. They might rely on their past experiences, forgetting that the perspectives provided by their own experiences might no longer be relevant, the more so as time progresses and practices, policies and technologies change.

Effective decision-making relies on solid information. The more perspectives a public administrator has on an issue, the more informed they are, increasing the probability of making decisions that best meet the needs of individuals, the agency and the community. To achieve this, they must look through many windows.

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Author: Thomas E. Poulin, PhD, SHRM-CP, PSHRA-CP, is a training and development consultant and part-time public administration faculty at Columbia Southern University. He served in local government and non-profits for more than 30 years and has taught public administration and related topics for over 20. He may be reached at [email protected].

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