Part of being a leader is being decisive and confident about your decision. People lose confidence in you when you waffle for too long or too often. You can’t be a competent leader and be indecisive. Repeating the phrase ‘I don’t know” every time someone comes to you for a decision doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. So how do you get better at making decisions? It’s actually pretty simple. You practice. Start with small decisions and work your way up, and eventually decisiveness becomes a habit like anything else. Easy ways to improve decisiveness:
- Choose an item off the menu quickly. Be ready when your server returns with the drink order.
- Choose your movie quickly. Don’t wander aimlessly around Blockbuster.
- Don’t shop. Seek, find, purchase and move on.
- Stop saying “I don’t care” or “You decide”. Be an active participant in the plans.
- Compromise less. Don’t wait on consensus when you’re capable of making the decision.
- Block out the “what if” thoughts about making a bad decision. Make the decision and live with the repercussions.
If you’re indecisive this doesn’t happen overnight. You have to practice at it. It’s taken me years not to be a “go with the flow” guy. And it’s still a fight in my personal life. But in becoming more decisive, I’m saving time and energy and people know I can be counted on to keep things moving. It boils down to consciously deciding what you want and pursuing it. You don’t have to pursue it every waking hour, but it helps to have it in the front your mind instead of the back. Happy deciding.
