How to improve your leadership skills: be a great decision maker.

Let’s start with understanding what exactly making a decision means. The actual meaning of the word comes from the latin word “decidere”. Which translates: “to cut off”. As in, there’s no option after the decision has been made.

I think this is why making decisions can sometimes feel heavy or scary. I also think this is why most leaders play both sides and DON'T decide. Whether that's a decision on policy or confrontation. I think we have all experienced a boss who could not pick a side and move forward, right?

Here’s a quick question to use every time you’re in a decision-making situation to hopefully aid in a quicker response: will this get me closer to or further from my goal?

Simple right? Sometimes when we are in a position of “decision maker” we can overcomplicate things. Especially in the role of a leader.

Let’s take the decision of firing someone for example. This one is where “leading with love” can get massively screwed up in our vision for our goals.

Letting someone go means they will possibly take a hit financially and they will potentially take a hit to their self-esteem and ego too. If they have a family, well you already know how hard that decision is! I know that hit you in the heart/gut/both, we’ve all been there in some capacity as either the decision maker or on the receiving end.

Back to simplicity, is this person getting us (the team, company and clients) closer or further from our goal?

Answer quickly, don’t think about it. I know it sounds harsh but here’s the thing. As the leader, your responsibility is to lead the company to success. Sometimes, just as in personal life, people are seasons.

Think of those people you know who have been in the same career for decades and HATE what they do. Why do they stay? Comfort, complacency etc. 

In a thriving culture, the leader would have identified this and worked with them to help choose the best decision for the company. “Do you need to shift roles or does this path come to an end?”

Key word: decision. This does not mean you can’t do it with love, this is actually where love steps in!

Empower them to better understand their options for staying and pursuing a career with your company, the ball is in their court.

Or on the other hand, if they are disruptive, stick to your core values and mission. “Are they contributing to getting us closer or further from that goal?” 

Either way, a decision has to be made. Life and business are a series of crossroads waiting on us to choose, and sometimes if we wait too long it chooses for us. I can tell you in my experience, letting it choose for you never usually works out in the way you like it.

Take your power back of being a decision making bada** and don’t get swept up in chaos. Sit, lay it out and ask your question.

If nothing else, remember this: shift your perspective from “I might make the wrong decision” into “I will choose, and continue to move forward knowing everything is a learning opportunity”

That shift alone helped me to get out of freeze mode for fear of making a “bad” decision, into knowing there is no “failure” when you can pull lessons from every decision.

Follow our formula, the 3 T’s for success: Test it, Tweak it, Try it again.

DECIDE today on what practices you will choose to prioritize when it’s time to make decisions.

And if you need support in this…you know where to find us!