If it were up to any given team member, leaders would just decide and move forward.
The constant handwringing and worry over decisions, even major ones, seems like a waste of time to those below. Team members have always prized decisiveness. Decisions create clarity, even if they are unpopular. It makes everyone’s job easier when they know exactly where things are headed.
To those waiting for a decision, it appears that leaders often do everything in their power not to make one. They appear to deny, delay, and postpone tackling major issues and deciding on how to resolve them.
This unfair characterization occurs because leaders apply a different rule to decisions than team members do.
When it makes sense to act swiftly and boldly, leaders believe in doing so — but they rarely think it does. They know that once they make a decision, it is exceedingly difficult to revoke. When a leader commits to a decision, all the other options disappear.
Closing doors and eliminating options doesn’t usually make sense in dynamic environments where everything is constantly shifting and changing. And in today’s world, all environments are dynamic.
Good decision-makers don’t commit to a path until they have to. That’s what good leaders believe.
Team members have a different view. They know problems don’t age well and opportunities are fleeting. Clarity allows them to act and execute on their goals. Anything that delays a decision seems like a flaccid excuse for inaction. Good leaders are decisive, right? In the end, isn’t it better to make a wrong decision than to not make a decision at all?
Ironically, the more successful an organization or team, the more likely it is for these two views to collide.
Quality decisions benefit from both urgency and optionality. Team members who are impatient with indecision provide a much-needed shot in the arm to leaders. The pressure their frustration exerts encourages leaders to make the calls they need to before a problem gets out of hand or an opportunity is lost forever.
Leaders who remain steadfast in their commitment to keep their options open usually make better decisions. By waiting for the last possible moment to make a major decision, good leaders show respect for the changing marketplace and prevent committing to a path destined for failure. Optionality also allows them to account for the implications and unintended consequences associated with any decision.
The push and pull of competing viewpoints regarding decisiveness benefits both sides. Unfortunately, for good leaders, the bad rap they receive for not always being decisive is a drum that never stops beating.
Yet another reason why leadership is both thankless and hard.
