Teams and groups sometimes face an uncertain moment when deciding to change course seems premature, but waiting for clarity feels impotent.
Allowing the marketplace and other external factors to stabilize is usually the right call, but that doesn’t mean the group and the organization don’t become antsy, waiting for someone or something to make a move.
Leaders who succumb to the pressure to “do something” — to act decisively — typically regret it later. The best leaders admit that there are times to act and also times to wait patiently for elements to materialize.
But that does not mean the group is paralyzed.
They should make a decision. It’s just not the one everyone is expecting.
When leaders and groups are faced with so much uncertainty that they can’t act, the wise choice is to decide on the time to decide.
In other words, determining at what point a decision needs to be made, regardless of the certainty or clarity (or lack of) that the group possesses.
This decision point may be months away, but the timeline serves as a bulwark for reducing the pressure to act. Intentionally delaying strategic changes while creating a structured deadline or timeline increases certainty and the drive for action.
A decision schedule reduces ambiguity, mobilizes commitment, and puts people at ease. Interestingly, placing a line in the sand and deciding when to decide creates its own clarity for team members.
Knowing by when a decision must be made gives people the push they need to gather as much information and data as they can to prepare for an imminent decision.
Because timelines are often coupled with decision gates, predefined criteria for examining options, roadmapping critical steps, and information-gathering points, the team has plenty to do while it waits patiently for external factors to stabilize.
Once team members throughout the organization know a timeline for decision-making has been set, they stop second-guessing the inaction and refocus their efforts on the day-to-day tasks.
Setting a timeline for a decision that can’t be made at the present moment prevents long-term paralysis and the natural bias to wait things out. Good leaders are patient but not so much as to let matters happen organically.
When they can’t make a decision, they decide within what timeline it seems reasonable to do so. Deciding on the time to decide is one of the most important choices leaders and teams make when confronting a quicksand of uncertainty.
When clarity is absent, leaders find a way to create it.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
