Not Making a Decision is Still a Decision.
(But it's usually not a good one)
When I first became a results coach, I went into a printing company to speak with the account reps and the salespeople. One of the first things I remember hearing was a statement from one of the account reps complaining about the leadership of that company. She said, “Management views not making the decision as winning.” She went on to explain that the longer the president could go without making a decision, the better he liked it. Whether or not that woman’s statement was true, the company went out of business.
The higher up you go in a leadership role, the more important it is for you to make decisions. And we’re not even talking about making good decisions yet. The fact is, many of the decisions you make may not be that great. The important thing is that you do something. Otherwise, you risk the perception that you are ineffective in your role.
As a new leader, you crave wisdom, experience, and insights from more seasoned leaders. However, if you are an entrepreneur, you may not have that luxury. If this is the case, you should be looking into getting a mentor and/or a business coach.
Now, as far as making good decisions go, you may have to rely on your intuition at the beginning. It never hurts to get information from those who have more experience than you — even if they are subordinates. I encourage you to use the ready, fire, aim method. In other words, give it your best shot right now, evaluate your results, and adjust accordingly as needed. The more decisions you make, the better it will get making them. Also, remember that, in business, most mistakes are not fatal. If you find yourself having difficulty making decisions, practice making a lot of small decisions with little or no consequences.
As you find yourself learning from the results of your small decisions, you’ll be able to gauge how good your decision-making judgment really is. And the more decisions you make, good or bad, the quicker you will gain more experience, wisdom, and better judgment. Best of all, years from now, you’ll be better equipped to serve as somebody else’s mentor when he or she is starting out.
“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridges to cross and which to burn.” – David Russell
This excerpt is taken from the seminar entitled Inspired Leadership IV: Delegation & Decision Making for Leaders. I encourage you to
click here to register for the exclusive live Zoom presentation of Inspired Leadership IV: Delegation & Decision Making for Leaders on Thursday, September 21, 2023 from 9 AM to 12 noon Eastern Standard Time.
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