Word-Of-the-Week #920: Decisive
March 24, 2022 by Susan Clarke
Decisive – the ability to make decisions quickly.
When it comes to making decisions would you say you are decisive? Do you have a tendency to not want to deal with or avoid difficult situations? Do you like solving challenges quickly?
This week features excerpts from “Decisive Managers Make Better Leaders. Don’t let “analysis paralysis” keep you from making good decisions. Enlist help from your mentors if you need it,” by the Business News Daily.
“Business leaders who have developed a cooperative approach to decision-making understand that people need to be valued, respected, listened to and involved. This approach translates into better performance for their companies. It also yields more streamlined results as the inability to make sound decisions means your company could suffer greatly, as nothing will ever get done.
This inherent fear of making a mistake is one of the most common reasons that lead to “risk aversion,” or the inability to move forward with decisions. Another common setback is that many leaders get caught up in “analysis paralysis.” This plays out in the form of incessant information gathering: statistics, surveys and the like that can prolong the decision-making process.
Sometimes top-level management will bury their heads in the sand and truly believe that change or new direction decisions are not necessary. This type of leader would rather uphold the status quo than look at new ideas which can be counter-productive, particularly considering our current high-speed business and economic environment.
It may be a definitive advantage to appoint women to top-tier positions, including positions on company boards. In fact, the study points out that boards with higher female representation experience a 53% higher return on equity, a 66% higher return on invested capital and a 42% higher return on sales.
What is a decisive leader?
A crucial aspect of being a successful leader is the ability to make decisions that are time-sensitive and well-informed. Decisive leaders are those who seek out the appropriate information that is necessary to make a good decision and they demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge held by their colleagues, direct reports and leaders.
In the workplace, decisiveness is key for effectively executing plans and achieving set goals. Decisive leaders have the ability to balance the costs of continuing to gather information, deliberate and delay a decision versus the costs of making poor choices. They are aware of competing costs, and they weigh them carefully, but most importantly, a decisive leader makes decisions that are clear and final.
The qualities of a decisive leader
Decisiveness isn’t a skill that people typically talk about, but it is extremely important to successful leadership. For example, have you ever worked with a leader who could not make up their mind; they were always asking others what they thought, but they never came up with any conclusions themselves? If you have experienced this, you understand how frustrating an indecisive leader may be. Some of the benefits of being a decisive leader for employees and the company include:
- Decisive leaders are responsible and accountable. Decisive leaders take responsibility for the effect their decisions have on the company and other, and they are committed to following through on the actions needed to carry out a decision.
- They are confident. Decisive leaders deliver their messages with clarity and confidence, which makes it unlikely for others to second-guess their decisions.
- Once they reach a decision, they are slow to change their mind. Being decisive doesn’t entail being arrogant, stubborn or hasty, it simply means having the ability to make decisions with clarity. Decisive leaders can be slow to change their mind. This is because they trust their instincts.
Being a decisive leader is a highly desirable skill, especially when it comes to running a business. There are very few people who are willing to put their trust in someone that overthinks and goes back and forth over basic decisions.
This week’s focus is on being decisive. Do you want to be the leader of your own life or the follower? Who do you think knows better and is more wiser than you when it comes to making decisions? If you are unsatisfied with your any part of your life what are going to do about it?
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