I don\u2019t know about you, but when I get stressed it severely impacts my ability to make decisions. As I ponder all of the decisions I have to make, usually with short timelines and significant consequences if I get it wrong, I often feel unprepared and uncomfortable making a final commitment.<\/p>\n
A leader recently said to me, \u201cwith everything on my plate I barely have time to do the analysis required to make an informed decisions, so I have to either make a hasty decision or defer entirely.\u201d\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t agree more. Some decisions are hard to make. For some people, making any kind of decision is hard. For most of us though, the hardest decisions can cause the biggest delays, often because there is so much emotion attached to making that decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it.\u201d
\n– Gordon Graham<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThere are lots of big decisions we need to make. \u00a0They are big because they have a significant impact on our future, such as:<\/p>\n
\n
- Quitting a job<\/li>\n
- Taking a new job<\/li>\n
- Moving<\/li>\n
- Getting married<\/li>\n
- Having a baby<\/li>\n
- Starting a new career<\/li>\n
- Going back to school<\/li>\n
- Asking for a promotion<\/li>\n
- Retiring<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We are also required to make significant decisions more often then just the big life milestone ones.\u00a0 You need to make choices about how to spend your budget, who will be hired or fired, how to communicate bad news to your team, how to lead a new department, etc.\u00a0 On a weekly basis you make important decisions.<\/p>\n
Being indecisive can look like:<\/p>\n
\n
- Procrastinating, stalling, and pushing deadlines further into the future, often more than once<\/li>\n
- Making other tasks a priority, which is often part of procrastinating<\/li>\n
- Clutter, emotional and\/or physical. Clutter represents a delayed decision. When there is clutter, there is indecision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ultimately we are indecisive when we have fear. Fear of making the wrong decision, fear of regret, fear of the future consequences if we make the wrong choice.<\/p>\n
Ironically, we can<\/em>\u00a0decide the \u2018wrong\u2019 thing, because indecision is still a decision The worst outcome of all is not deciding \u201cwrong\u201d; It is not deciding at all.<\/p>\n
How to Take Action<\/h3>\n
\n
- Do your homework, your research, and your due diligence. Seek the expert opinions of people you respect.<\/li>\n
- Stop looking for a guarantee. Life doesn\u2019t promise that things will work as you planned. The only guarantee is that change will happen.\u00a0 Making a decision will ensure you help shape the change to come, but you can\u2019t control all variables.<\/li>\n
- Have a back-up plan. This can provide comfort in case your Plan A doesn\u2019t go the way you want.<\/li>\n
- Trust yourself! Believe in your ability to make good decisions and know that you have the ability to change course if need be. <\/strong><\/li>\n
- Just do it!\u00a0 As the famous Disney song goes \u201cLet it Go.\u201d Jump in, make the decision and promise yourself not to obsess over it after it\u2019s done.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What to Do If Your Leader is Indecisive<\/h3>\n
Sometimes we work for leaders that are indecisive either because they are stressed and overwhelmed, or their leader is indecisive and they need to wait for their approval, or they have fear of failure.<\/p>\n
This can make it very challenging if you are seeking a decision, big or small, and require your leader’s approval before you can move forward. Here are some tips on what you can do to help move the decision process along:<\/p>\n
1. Ask Questions<\/h4>\n
Ask strategic questions that will help clarify next steps, such as:<\/p>\n
\n
- What is the goal we want to achieve?<\/li>\n
- What is the first priority?<\/li>\n
- Who is responsible to complete each part?<\/li>\n
- What is the timeline? What happens if we miss our deadline?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This can help your leader feel more comfortable making a decision or provide him or her with the information required to sell it to senior leaders.<\/p>\n
2. Offer a Proposal<\/h4>\n
Propose a solution that is detailed, well thought out and concrete. By limiting the options, your leader is less likely to get caught up in \u201canalysis to paralysis\u201d mode and will be able to make a decision in the direction you wish them to move.\u00a0 It will alleviate the fear of making the wrong choice and will high light your critical thinking skills, thus increasing your leader\u2019s trust in your decision making abilities.<\/p>\n
3. Be honest<\/h4>\n
It\u2019s possible your leader isn\u2019t aware that he or she negatively impacts your ability to be successful by delaying their decision-making. Be honest about the impact to you and the team and ask how you can help in the future to present information in a way that is easier to review, analyze and take action on.<\/p>\n
If your manager\u2019s indecision leads to a complete stand-still in your work, look for opportunities to collaborate across departments. When opportunity arises for you to offer your support on a project, jump in. Demonstrate your ability to execute and perform. Your determination to be productive and add value to the organization will open doors for you, even if your manager isn\u2019t prepared to make a decision, choose a path and take action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yes, No, Maybe…? I don\u2019t know about you, but when I get stressed it severely impacts my ability to make decisions. As I ponder all of the decisions I have to make, usually with short timelines and significant consequences if … Continue reading