Today's Leadership Insight - Are You Decisive Enough?

August 10th, 2009

My wife and I had a conversation over the weekend about indecisiveness and how it can impact even the smallest parts of your day. This was in reference to a conversation we've both fallen prey to which I'll share in a moment (one we've ALL been apart of), and how much our lives have changed because we decided to make better decisions and spend our time more wisely.

One thing I've taken for granted in the past and make strides to improve upon daily is how I spend my time. I look back at all the time I've wasted, either doing meaningless activities or trading in hours for wages at jobs that made me miserable, and wish I could have that time back.

Naturally, the past is the past, and I'll never get that time back again. I chalk every minute of it up to experience.

Fortunately, life gives us a lot of mulligans. We have the ability to decide to make a change RIGHT NOW...and then do it. When I came to the realization that I was focusing too much of my personal spotlight on the negative aspects of life, I made the changes that were necessary.

You have to make a conscious decision to make these changes actually happen, and this is where decisiveness comes into play.

Have you ever been involved in one of these conversations with someone?

"Well, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know, what do you want to do?"
"I asked you first."
"I don't want to decide. You decide."
"I can't make up my mind. You pick something and we'll go with it."
"OK...why don't we do this?"
"No...I don't want to do that. Pick something else."

Think of the time wasted because both parties of this conversation won't decide on something to do. If you're ever entrenched in one of these conversations, it can be downright excrutiating!

This is where a true leader can step up to the plate and hit a home run. A leader can make a decision and save everyone involved a lot of headache and indecisive chatter because a true leader practices decisiveness.

In business, the leader's role is quite similar. Indecisiveness is the evil twin of procrastination. If you come up with an idea, but can't decide how, when, and why to bring it to life, you're more prone to put that idea on the back burner and not give it the attention it deserves.

Leaders are innovators. They will implement any idea they conjur up. If it works, that idea becomes the foundation for something revolutionary. If it fails, then it fails. The leader knows what to avoid when implementing their next idea and can inform those around them to do the same.

Today, focus on making a BIG decision...something you've been putting off for a while because you were going back and forth on whether it was a good move. Make the decision today to move your life, your business, and your leadership in the right direction.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..."