Make the Decision Already
Indecision is still a decision — and it’s always the wrong one.
Leaders love to talk about “considering all the angles.” And yes, perspective matters. But at some point, you have to stop analyzing the angles and actually move. You cannot steer something that’s standing still.
The most common failure I see in leadership isn’t bad judgment — it’s no judgment. Endless discussion. Consensus-chasing. The illusion that one more meeting, one more data point, or one more stakeholder conversation will deliver the perfect choice. It won’t. You can’t spreadsheet your way into certainty.
Decision-making isn’t about knowing everything — it’s about acting on what you know now and adapting when reality inevitably teaches you more. That’s what strategy actually is: movement with awareness.
If you’re terrified of being wrong, build flexibility into your systems. Make your decisions modular. Choose options that can pivot if new information comes to light. But for the love of all things operational, make the call. Sitting on the fence doesn’t protect you from risk — it just guarantees stagnation.
Indecision masquerades as caution, but it’s really control anxiety in a tailored suit. Leaders tell themselves they’re being thoughtful, inclusive, or data-driven. In truth, they’re scared. Scared to be blamed. Scared to take ownership. Scared to admit that failure is part of the process. But here’s the paradox: refusing to decide doesn’t protect you from failure — it just ensures the failure will be slow, quiet, and painful.
The best leaders I’ve worked with don’t have perfect track records; they have momentum. They make decisions, monitor outcomes, and adjust. They fail faster, learn faster, and recover faster. That’s how progress happens — not through flawless plans, but through velocity paired with reflection.
Weak leaders try to please everyone. They hedge. They nod along in every meeting and agree with whoever they talked to last. They confuse diplomacy with effectiveness. But good leadership requires a spine. You cannot guide people if you’re constantly shape-shifting to avoid conflict.
Having an opinion isn’t arrogance. It’s accountability. It tells your team, “I see the path, and I’m willing to be responsible for where it leads.” That’s how you earn trust — not by being right all the time, but by being clear, consistent, and decisive enough that others know what to follow.
You will make wrong calls. Everyone does. But the faster you make them, the faster you can course-correct. There’s no shame in failing — only in freezing.
So stop waiting for perfect information. Stop scheduling one more alignment meeting. Stop drafting another pro/con matrix that no one will read. Because “playing it safe” is just another way of saying you’ve already decided — you’ve chosen nothing. And nothing ever moves forward.
Make the decision and own it. That’s your job as a leader.
