Episode 03 - Judgment at work: A framework for better leadership decisions with Sir Andrew Likierman
This week on The Lift, Ben is joined by Sir Andrew Likierman, professor of Management Practice in Accounting at London Business School and the author of Judgement at Work: Making Better Choices.
Key takeaways:
Good judgment is a learnable leadership skill, not intuition or instinct
Applying judgment principles requires context and flexibility, not rigid rule-following
Awareness of personal biases and emotions strengthens decision-making
In the age of AI, judgment is a critical human advantage, helping leaders assess nuance, break patterns, and adapt when situations don’t fit the data
Strong leadership judgment depends on execution, not just analysis — a decision isn’t “good” if it can’t be carried out in the real world
In today’s episode, Ben sits down with Professor Sir Andrew Likierman to unpack a deceptively simple idea: judgment isn’t a feeling. It’s a process.
Andrew has spent decades studying what separates leaders who consistently make sound calls from those who get stuck in overconfidence, analysis paralysis, or “rule-following” that collapses the moment the context shifts. His core distinction lands fast: decision-making is an action – it’s something you do. But judgment is a capability – something you bring. We don’t usually praise someone for “good decision-making” as a personality trait; we say they have good judgment. That’s because judgment includes the human element: what you notice, the factors you weigh, who (and what) you trust, and how your beliefs and biases sneak into the room with you.
To make judgment practical (and teachable), Andrew offers a six-part framework leaders can use no matter the situation, especially in moments when you’re tired, stressed, or under pressure to move fast. He breaks judgment down into components you can actually improve:
Relevant knowledge and experience. What do you truly know that applies here – and what are you assuming?
Awareness of context. Every decision happens inside a specific moment: politics, timing, incentives, constraints, hidden agendas.
Trust. Are the people, data and inputs reliable? Are you over-trusting a “confident” source?
Feelings, beliefs and biases. You’re not a machine. Your emotions and worldview shape what you see as “obvious.”
How you make the choice. Slow down or speed up? Consider alternatives or commit? Who stress-tests the decision?
Deliverability. The best call on paper is not “good judgment” if it can’t be executed in the real world.
Throughout the conversation, Andrew makes a point to push back on rigid principles. Leaders often cling to rules (personal or organizational) as a shield, because saying “it was my judgment” can feel risky in bureaucratic or highly regulated environments. Andrew agrees that while blanket rules can be comforting, context is everything. Principles matter, but how you apply them in a given situation is judgment – mechanically applying a rule of thumb can be dangerous when the scenario doesn’t match the pattern.
That’s where ethics enters the chat. Andrew frames ethics not as a compliance checkbox, but as part of how beliefs shape judgment in real life, especially in ambiguous environments where “normal” practices differ across cultures. It’s not just what you believe; it’s how you apply your ethical framework when the pressure is on.
And consequently, there’s AI, the looming accelerant behind nearly every leadership conversation right now. Andrew’s take is bracing and oddly empowering: Yes, AI will dominate pattern recognition – the repeatable, rule-based, “if X then Y” stuff. But the differentiator for humans will be the next layer: deciding whether the current situation truly fits the pattern, noticing what’s different, and adapting accordingly. In other words, judgment is what keeps leaders valuable in an AI-shaped world.
Finally, Andrew shares a personal example of poor judgment that’s painfully relatable: Not starting a risky project, but staying in it too long and ignoring what the evidence was telling him because sunk cost (and pride) can be louder than clarity. It’s a sharp reminder that judgment isn’t about always being right. It’s about improving your odds and being willing to update your course when reality changes.
If you lead people, manage risk, build strategy, or simply want a clearer way to make hard calls, this episode gives you something rare: not what to decide, but how to think while deciding.
