- The Art Of Executive Presence: Unlocking The Power Within
- The Unseen Thread: How Emotional Intelligence Shapes Executive Presence
- Beyond Words: The Power of Communication In Executive Presence
- Tailored Messaging: Strategies For Engaging All Stakeholders
- Executive Gravitas: Cultivating Presence And Purpose
- The Role Of Confidence In Executive Presence
- Decisiveness In Leadership: Embracing Uncertainty And Inspiring Action [current article]
- The Calm Leader: How Poise Sets You Apart In High-Stakes Situations [coming soon]
- The Hardest Choices Define You: Understanding How Integrity Shapes Executive Presence [coming soon]
- Persuasion: A Tool for Elevating Your Executive Presence [coming soon]
- Beyond The Power Pose: How Body Language Can Enhance Your Executive Presence [coming soon]
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In the words of Geraldine Laybourne, “Business today is about making decisions amid ambiguity.” As leaders, our ability to be decisive is vital - it’s about taking clear, confident action even when the path isn’t fully visible. When indecision creeps in, things stall, and opportunities slip away. Whether you’re guiding a team or an entire organization, honing your decisiveness can transform not only your leadership and executive presence but also the collective momentum of your team. Harvard Business Review found that executives described as decisive were 12x more likely to be considered high-performing leaders by their peers.
It’s said that the average person makes about 35,000 decisions in a day. We don’t give much thought to most of these decisions, but every now and again, we bump up against bigger decisions with lasting or far-reaching consequences. As leaders, it’s important to know how to approach these decisions because both snap judgments and lengthy hesitation can lead to undesirable outcomes. In this article, we’ll explore what decisiveness looks like, the qualities it embodies, and how we can navigate decision-making when the answers aren’t easy.
What Does It Mean To Be Decisive?
A decisive leader possesses the remarkable ability to make timely decisions while skillfully balancing facts with intuition. They communicate openly with their team, embracing the complexity of each situation. By considering multiple perspectives and weighing the options thoughtfully, they prevent themselves from falling into the analysis paralysis trap. Decisive leaders are adaptable, ready to pivot when new information arises, and they clearly articulate their choices and the rationale behind them. This clarity fosters trust and empowers their teams to take action, igniting momentum throughout their organizations.
Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.
Malcolm Gladwell
canadian journalist and author
One of my former clients, E, was a leader who excelled at making quick decisions. However, she struggled to bring others along in the process. While her decisions were often sound, her rapid pace left her team feeling disconnected and uninvolved. Over time, E realized that in order to be a more effective leader, she needed to balance going with her gut and allowing others to have a voice in the process. She found that when she took the time to “show her math,” she could create great buy-in from her team. This switch ultimately led to stronger relationships and stronger decisions.
Developing emotional intelligence and an awareness of how your decisions and decision-making style impact others is essential for cultivating trust and nurturing a collaborative culture with your team.
If you tend to make decisions like E...
Pause To Gather Input
A McKinsey & Company study shows that 53% of executives say that their organization often experiences delays in decision-making due to a lack of collaboration. Even if you feel confident, it’s important to gather different perspectives that can bring to light things you might not have considered.
Communicate Your Rationale
E thrived on making fast decisions and usually weighed the pros and cons mentally. But when you take the time to verbalize your thinking, you bring others into your process, eliminate the mystery, and build trust.
Develop Relational Capital
Building trust goes beyond these moments. It’s a daily practice of building relationships, showing you’re reliable, and creating an open, inclusive, and accountable culture. The more trust you have with your team, the more likely they will back your decisions when time is of the essence.
Transparency And Trust
Transparency is the foundation of trust in leadership. When leaders openly communicate the rationale behind their decisions, they enhance their credibility and invite collaboration. Research shows that leaders who communicate effectively are 4.5x more likely to be trusted (Gallup). This consistency not only cultivates trust but also encourages teams to engage openly in the process.
Have you ever felt the weight of a decision and wondered if you were leaving your team behind? E’s journey teaches us that involving others can strengthen our choices and foster deeper connections.
What Decisiveness Is Not: Overanalyzing And Hesitation
Decisiveness isn’t about making quick decisions without sufficient information or thought. It’s not a knee-jerk reaction or emotional decision made under pressure. Nor is it about pushing through your agenda without considering others. And it isn’t rigid or inflexible - an unwillingness to consider new information.
It is about understanding when to stop analyzing and act. A study by Gartner found that over 65% of business decisions are delayed by “analysis paralysis,” which is often caused by an overwhelming influx of data.
Another former client, L, believed that data held all the answers, so he’d spend an excessive amount of time gathering data before he made a decision. This created a bottleneck for his team and led to delays in critical initiatives. Through coaching, L recognized that while data is important, his overreliance on it was stifling progress. He learned to trust his instincts and make timely decisions, which not only accelerated projects but also improved collaborations with partner organizations.
If you’re like L and can get bogged down gathering info…
Set Deadlines
Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to gather information and input and consider multiple perspectives and long-term implications. Then, set a deadline by which you’ll have to make the decision so that you don’t get stuck at the data-gathering stage.
Prioritize Key Data Points
Not all data is created equal. Focus only on the most critical information. Ask yourself what you absolutely need to know. Being able to sift through the information and discern what’s useful and what’s not will help eliminate the overwhelm caused by trying to go through everything.
Recognize Overthinking
Learn the behavior cues that indicate you’re starting to overthink the decision. What does that look like for you? Is your mind like a dog with a bone, unable to leave it alone? Does your anxiety go up or overwhelm set in? Understand your cues and learn to trust your instincts.
Confidence In Your Decisions
Confidence and decisiveness go hand in hand. Here again, it’s important to strike a balance between confidence and overconfidence. Effective leaders demonstrate a strong sense of self-assurance while remaining open to feedback and new ideas.
K struggled with feeling like she didn’t belong at the leadership table because of her non-traditional background. As a result, she doubted her decision-making ability and constantly second-guessed herself. With guidance and mentorship, K began to build confidence by seeking counsel from trusted allies and reflecting on her past successes. Over time, she realized that her unique experiences made her more than qualified to lead and offered a different perspective. As her confidence grew, so did her ability to make decisions with assurance. Her newfound decisiveness inspired the confidence of her team, enabling them to execute their initiatives with greater clarity.
Studies from Zengler / Folkman show that women are 1.5x more likely to doubt their decisions compared to their male counterparts.
If you’re like K and want to build confidence in your decision-making…
Seek Role Models
Who do you know that confidently makes decisions? Observe their process and use them as a role model to strengthen your own approach. What do you see them doing that you don’t? Perhaps ask them to walk you through their process or approach to decision-making.
Engaged Trusted Advisors
Don’t be afraid to bounce ideas off a mentor or close colleague. This can help reinforce your thinking and provide the assurance you need to move forward. A coaching relationship can also be a sounding board as you gain confidence in your decision-making.
Reflect On Past Successes
It’s easy to forget how much you’ve achieved to get where you are, so remind yourself of decisions you made that worked out well. How did you approach that decision? What was your process? Can you replicate what you did before in this situation? If not, what makes this situation unique, and how can you adapt?
Confidence in decision-making is vital for leaders; it not only influences their actions but also motivates their teams.
The Impact Of Decisiveness On Teams And Organizations
The benefits of decisiveness extend far beyond individual leaders. When leaders make timely, informed decisions, they enhance team efficiency and productivity and maintain momentum in teams and organizations. It also encourages a culture of innovation where team members feel empowered to take calculated risks.
According to McKinsey & Company, companies with decisive leadership are 3x more likely to achieve strategic goals, and high-performing organizations are 1.4x more likely to make decisions quickly and effectively.
In the case of L, his ability to overcome decision paralysis allowed him to make faster decisions that positively impacted his team and the partner organizations they worked with. E’s growing emotional intelligence and inclusiveness strengthened her decisions, helping her team launch new products successfully, even in high-pressure situations. And K’s growing confidence reassured her team, allowing them to move forward with clarity and trust.
Effective leaders find a balance between acting quickly and involving the right stakeholders. When you’re faced with an important decision…
Identify High-Stakes Decisions
Not all decisions hold the same weight, and distinguishing between high-stakes and lower-stakes choices is crucial for effective leadership. High-stakes decisions often involve significant resources, impact on team morale, or long-term organizational direction. For example, consider the case of Netflix transitioning from DVD rentals to streaming services. The decision required extensive input from multiple stakeholders, including technology, marketing, and finance teams, as it shifted the company’s entire business model. In contrast, a decision regarding the color of a new product’s packaging would likely only require input from a small design team.
Build Trust Through Transparency
Transparency in decision-making fosters trust and a sense of ownership among team members. When leaders share their reasoning, it not only demystifies the process but also encourages open dialogue and constructive feedback. According to a survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, organizations with high levels of transparency see employee engagement scores up 30% higher than those with low transparency.
Make Adjustments
The ability to adapt post-decision is vital for long-term success. Feedback loops allow leaders to assess the consequences of their decisions and pivot when necessary, demonstrating agility and responsiveness. A prime example is the way Proctor and Gamble addressed the challenges of launching its Gillette razor subscription service. Initially, the service faced a lower-than-expected uptake. By using customer feedback, P&G adjusted its marketing strategy, improved the user interface, and enhanced customer service, which led to a successful turnaround. Harvard Business Review noted that companies that incorporate feedback loops into their decision-making process see a 50% increase in the likelihood of achieving their desired outcomes.
A Decisive Approach
While there are many different decision-making frameworks that you can use in various situations, we thought we’d share a few key steps that you can follow the next time you need to make a decision:
Gather Info
Start with research and data collection to inform your choices. Remember not to get bogged down and focus on the most critical information.
Identify Priorities
What are the top priorities in this situation? This will help you establish a clear direction.
Consider Other Perspectives
Engage your team (or any other relevant stakeholders) to gain insights and feedback. Who are the key stakeholders? Who will be impacted?
Set A Deadline
Give yourself a timeframe to make the decision and stick to it so you avoid hesitating too much, missing opportunities, or creating bottlenecks for your team.
Analyze Options
Consider the pros and cons of each option. How will the timing and implementation of each option impact key stakeholders? Don’t get trapped in binary thinking when there could be a creative third solution.
Communicate Your Decision
Don’t forget to include the “why” behind your decision or how you arrived here because transparency builds trust.
Evaluate Outcomes
How did it go? After the decision has been made and action taken, what were the results of your decision? What have you learned? Is there anything about the process you’d like to adjust for next time?
Benjamin Disraeli famously said, “The secret to success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.” By creating a structured approach to decision-making, you can boost your confidence and empower your team to keep moving forward together. Remember, decisiveness is a balancing act of trusting your instincts while valuing the insights of others.
Informed decisiveness not only inspires trust but unlocks team potential. When leaders make thoughtful, timely decisions, they pave the way for progress and inspire confidence.
BRENÉ Brown
American academic and Podcaster
As L learned, too much data can lead to paralysis. E discovered that involving others made decisions stronger, and K grew in confidence by seeking counsel and learning to trust her instincts. But when they learned how to be truly decisive, they inspired trust, drove success, and ultimately moved their organizations forward with confidence.
We support leaders ready to develop the skills needed to guide their teams and organizations effectively. Whether you’re looking to overcome decision paralysis, build emotional intelligence, or enhance confidence in your decision-making, our personalized, one-to-one coaching will help you reach your goals.
