What are some ways to improve your decisiveness as a leader? Is this a skill you think can be developed?

People & LeadershipRelationship Management
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VP of Operations in Governmenta year ago

Some great perspectives so far on this topic!

From my perspective, decisiveness typically has a direct correlation to confidence in some of the best leaders I've seen. Much of the confidence comes from a combination of experience in the specific area, trust in your team feeding you information, or even similar decisions that you've had to make in the past. For my team and I, who are on the S&OE journey, I've started to create some "playbook" scenarios that we can walk through (some tied to pre-determined thresholds as guidance) to help build confidence on different types of decisions that could be asked of us. This gives the team confidence to respond more quickly and take action when they encounter these key decisions. 

VP of Corporate Developmenta year ago

Decisiveness is more a quality that can be developed over time.  As a leader you need to be able to make decisions that are based on your knowledge of the situation and your experience.  You need to weigh the options including what might happen if you don't make a decision.  Always consider the feedback from others if available but base it on the facts and not trying to please or agree with the person providing the feedback.
As a clinical person, decision making was part of my everyday experience especially as I moved up into a management role.  Knowing the impact could affect a patient honed my assessment skills that are critical to decision making.  People will follow a leader who is decisive but each situation dictates a different approach as mentioned in previous posts.

VP of Design in Bankinga year ago

Decisiveness is not a skill, but making decisions is supported by many skills which can be developed. The answer to this is non-trivial as it could be more practical such as lacking domain knowledge, lacking experience to ask the right questions or having advisors whom you trust to inform you accurately. However I see a lack of executive courage which may stem from deeper interpersonal issues or other fears, so there could also be an element of self development that aides in making better decisions.

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CEO in Services (non-Government)a year ago

I can be developed, and helps to have a trusted “observer” that can help the individual to identify moments in where decisiveness could have been more intentional. As a coach I work with many leaders in that aspect.

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