There is no such thing as a bad decision; you have to just decide, and it is what it is.
This is not exactly the most popular thing to say in Business Land. We are conditioned to believe that there is good and bad in decision-making.
Not so.
There are good and bad outcomes, true. But actual decision-making – that moment in time when you PICK something – is moving forward with (a) the information you have at your disposal in the moment, and (2) your ability to be agile and pivot later if needed.
Decision-making is a skill like any other. It’s like a muscle that can either be strengthened with use, or atrophy with lack of use. We wrap up our decisions in “good” and “bad,” and you know what? This thinking can really F things up and paralyze us.
And that isn’t exactly a recipe for success anyway.
To lead is to never shirk from your decisions.
Think of decisions instead as “best” in the moment, and “adjustable” if necessary.
Very few decisions are so permanent as to be irrevocable. The pivot(s) you need to make to correct them can be difficult or uncomfortable, but almost never impossible.
You make your BEST decision in the moment – just decide.
You trust yourself and be all in – just decide.
You believe you have everything it takes to make it right if the outcome goes sideways – just decide.
This is what true leaders do all the time. All. The. Time. Because there is no other choice! To lead is to never shirk from your decisions. If you think a leader is especially good at making decisions by looking at their positive outcomes, then chances are that leader is very practiced at MAKING decisions according to the framework above. With practice, you just get better at assessing information you have in the moment.
And without practice, this skill, like any other skill, will be rusty.
You can trust yourself and be all in – just decide.
So practice decision-making. Go and just decide things. You will learn a heck of a lot more – and get waaay better at it – than if you sit and wait for fairy dust of beautiful outcomes to fall upon you. Be confident that it’s not the end of the world if it goes a little sideways, and you have what you need to correct the course if needed.
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