Leadership Team Development #3 – Decide!

My next step forward in this series on developing effective leaders and managers is to address an issue common to almost every leadership team I’ve worked with – indecision.

Some people find it very hard to make decisions about anything. They simply hate making decisions. Others are very decisive when it comes to making personal decisions, but struggle in a group or team setting. When the outcome matters a lot, the pressure to make the right decision adds even more weight to the process. For these reasons and more, it is very common for teams to fall into the trap of discussing issues endlessly without
deciding anything.

So, there’s a big, unexpected rock in the road impeding your progress. You can go around it, over it, under it or blow it up to get it out of your way. You must decide. Standing there immobilized for weeks, months or years, discussing all the attributes of the rock, or worse, blaming the rock for your failure to move forward, isn’t an option. Great leaders and managers press for a decision to keep the team moving forward.

Here are your takeaway points for today:

• Read or Review – read pages 21 – 31 of Gino Wickman’s eBook, Decide!. The entire eBook is a must read, but I encourage you to focus this week on mastering “The Process” of making decisions because that will get you moving forward if you have been stuck. Download Decide! for free if you have not already done so. For those of you who already know “The Process”, this is a good time to check yourself to make sure you are still practicing these steps purely.
• Take Responsibility for Your Issues – you can’t play the blame game and succeed as a great leader or manager. If the issue belongs to you and your team, grab it and solve it. If the issue doesn’t belong to you, don’t pick it up. Insist that the responsible party or team addresses and resolves it. This fosters accountability within your organization and vendor relationships, and engages everyone in the process of constructively deciding how to move forward.

Above all, remember this: it’s all about progress, not perfection. Decide!