An important quality of leadership is to be able to make decisions quickly and confidently. Even a wrong decision is better than no decision at all.
Why?
- Taking too long to make a decision can hurt the situation at hand because the primary moment for which the decision was needed may have already passed.
- People in the company or organization can become frustrated, which leads to a negative internal attitude.
- There can be a detrimental ripple effect as people may become overly cautious about making decisions, which slows down the entire process.
Leaders have to know when it’s the right time to make a decision and when taking more time is appropriate.
Asking these 2 questions will help guide your decision-making process:
- What will the impact be if the decision I make is wrong?
- How much will it hold up other things if I don’t make a decision now?
You don’t need to have all the information in order to make a decision. As long as you’re about 65% sure, you should go for it. Your role is to make decisions that give your group direction. Even if you end up being wrong, most mistakes can be fixed.
(Harvard Business Review)
Update brought to you by:
Herschel Leiner, President & Founder of H. LEINER & CO.
www.hleiner.com
