In large and small ways alike, leaders make trade-offs in their decisions based on their perception of what they have to lose. For me, I’m conscious of the fact that I hate making any decision that might cause conflict. I love peace, just as most of us do, I suspect. Yet by avoiding any decision, even a good decision, that might cause conflict I set myself up for bigger problems down the road. It’s worth reflecting on what mental and psychological processes go into your decision making.
Are you avoiding making necessary decisions because:
1. You fear losing friends?
2. You want to be a “nice” person, and making hard decisions would not fit that perception?
3. You are afraid of being misunderstood?
4. It’s too much effort?
5. It’s easier to just leave well enough alone?
These are just a few questions that expose some of the rational that leaders struggle with when making hard decisions. The truth is, in most cases you have little to lose and everything to gain from making necessary decisions. To make the best possible decision, those that will be best in consideration of the long-term health of your team, you’ve got to move beyond the petty, self-interested reasons for not doing the right thing, and look to what’s in the best interest of the team in the long run. If you do that, you’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
What drives your decisions? What part of your psychological make-up can lead you to develop a proscrastination of tough, but necessary, decisions?
David Curry
