Make a Decision

Apr 11, 2016
2 min read

When my friend, Moriah, who is also our Executive Assistant, shared the above quote with me, it instantly became one of my favorites. Decision-making is a topic that comes up over and over as our team at Eagle continues to walk with leaders.

I was recently talking with an executive that was struggling with a member of his team who simply could not, or would not make a decision. He consequently removed this leader from his team.

This seasoned leader shared with me, "If I refuse to make this hard call, I penalize our team and ultimately our entire organization."

I realize that there is a time for collaboration and listening in the decision-making process. Expending the time and energy to understand how we, along with those we lead, make decisions is crucial to the success of any leader. However, once the data has been collected and the collaboration has been completed, we must have the courage to make the call.

Rest assured, there will always be those on the sidelines who are quick to criticize your decisions, especially if things don't turn out to suit them. The truth is that we all will make bad decisions from time to time. If we find ourselves making more poor calls than successful ones, then it may take time to assess how and why we are making those decisions.

Refusing to make a decision because of our fear of failure or from a lack of awareness of the urgency of the situation are signs of a selfish leader. This lack of leadership causes frustration and confusion from those we lead.

Leaders who are willing to own the risk of making the wrong call are those who garner respect and appreciation from those within their circle of influence.

Choose to courageously make a decision... don't be a flattened squirrel... and you will make a difference!