Attorney Bracken McKey shares why judgment becomes one of the most valuable professional assets over time and why it often matters most when situations are least predictable.
BEAVERTON, OR / ACCESS Newswire / June 22, 2026 / Most organizations are good at measuring experience. They can count years of service, certifications, performance metrics, and professional accomplishments. What remains much harder to measure is judgment.
Yet judgment often determines the quality of decisions when circumstances become complicated, information is incomplete, and the right answer is not immediately obvious.
According to attorney Bracken McKey, professional judgment is one of the most important skills people develop throughout their careers. It is also one of the least understood.
“People often think judgment means knowing the answer,” McKey said. “What I’ve found is that judgment becomes most important when there isn’t a clear answer. Those are the moments when experience, perspective, and careful thinking matter most.”
After more than twenty-five years working in both public service and private practice, McKey has seen firsthand how professionals respond when situations become uncertain. While technical skills and knowledge remain essential, he believes judgment is what allows people to apply those skills effectively when the path forward is unclear.
The Most Important Decisions Rarely Come With Complete Information
Many professional decisions are straightforward. Policies exist. Procedures are established. Expectations are clear.
The most significant decisions are often different.
They require people to weigh competing priorities, assess risks, and make choices without knowing exactly how events will unfold.
Research from leadership and management organizations consistently shows that decision-making becomes more complex as professionals take on greater responsibility. Senior leaders often spend less time solving technical problems and more time evaluating uncertainty.
“The difficult decisions were never the ones where everything lined up neatly,” McKey said. “The situations that required the most judgment were the ones where you had strong arguments on multiple sides and no opportunity to wait for perfect information.”
That challenge exists across industries. Executives, business owners, managers, healthcare professionals, and public servants all face situations in which they must act before all questions have been answered.
Experience Creates Perspective, Not Certainty
One common misconception is that experience eventually removes uncertainty.
McKey says the opposite is often true.
Long careers tend to make professionals more aware of complexity, not less. They learn how many variables can influence outcomes and how quickly circumstances can change.
What experience provides is perspective.
People begin to recognize patterns. They become better at identifying risks. They gain a stronger understanding of which details deserve attention and which distractions can be ignored.
“One of the biggest changes over time is that you stop looking for certainty,” McKey said. “You start focusing on making the best decision possible with the information available and understanding that every decision carries some degree of risk.”
Research in cognitive science supports this idea. Studies have found that experts often rely on pattern recognition developed through years of experience. Rather than treating every situation as entirely new, they compare it against previous situations and use those observations to guide their decisions.
Judgment Is Built Through Reflection
Time alone does not create judgment.
Two professionals can spend the same number of years in a field and develop very different decision-making abilities.
The difference often comes down to reflection.
Professionals who regularly evaluate outcomes, learn from mistakes, and study their decisions tend to develop stronger judgment over time. Those who simply repeat routines may accumulate experience without gaining the same level of insight.
“Some of the most valuable lessons came from decisions that didn’t go the way I expected,” McKey said. “Those situations force you to examine your assumptions and understand what you missed.”
Leadership researchers have reached similar conclusions. Studies consistently show that deliberate reflection is one of the strongest drivers of professional growth. Learning occurs not only through experience itself, but through thoughtful analysis of that experience.
Why Good Judgment Often Goes Unnoticed
One reason organizations struggle to recognize judgment is that its best outcomes are often invisible.
A strong decision may prevent a larger problem from developing.
A thoughtful assessment may help avoid unnecessary risk.
A well-timed conversation may resolve an issue before it affects performance.
Because these outcomes often prevent problems rather than create visible success, their value can be difficult to measure.
“The best examples of judgment rarely make headlines,” McKey said. “In many cases, good judgment shows up as stability. Things continue working because someone recognized an issue early and addressed it before it became a larger problem.”
This reality creates a challenge for organizations. Many performance measures focus on visible results while overlooking the quality of the decisions that produced those results.
Organizations Benefit When They Develop Judgment Intentionally
McKey believes organizations should place greater emphasis on helping professionals develop judgment throughout their careers.
That process starts by creating opportunities for people to think critically, ask questions, and learn from outcomes.
It also requires leaders to evaluate decision-making processes rather than focusing exclusively on results.
Good outcomes can sometimes come from poor decisions. Poor outcomes can occasionally result from sound decisions made under difficult circumstances.
Understanding the difference is essential.
“People improve when they understand how decisions are made,” McKey said. “They improve even more when they understand why those decisions were made.”
Organizations that encourage thoughtful discussion, constructive feedback, and continuous learning often create environments where judgment can develop more effectively.
Looking Beyond Technical Expertise
Technical skills remain important in every profession. They provide the foundation for performance and growth.
Judgment determines how those skills are applied when circumstances become complicated.
As industries evolve and responsibilities increase, professionals are increasingly asked to navigate situations that cannot be solved by expertise alone. They must interpret information, evaluate tradeoffs, and make decisions under conditions of uncertainty.
That is where judgment becomes valuable.
According to McKey, one of the most important lessons from a long career is that professional success is rarely defined by what someone knows alone. It is shaped by how they think, how they evaluate situations, and how they respond when the path forward is not obvious.
“Judgment is never finished,” he said. “It’s something you continue building throughout your career. Every experience adds another piece to the picture.”
About Bracken McKey
Bracken McKey is an attorney and owner of McKey Law in Oregon. With more than twenty-five years of experience in public service and private practice, he has built a career around complex decision-making, risk assessment, leadership, and professional judgment. Through his writing, speaking, and legal work, he shares insights on leadership, organizational performance, human behavior, and long-term decision-making.
Media Contact:
Bracken McKey
info@brackenmckey.com
SOURCE: Bracken McKey
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