“Decisions are made by those who show up.”
An outstanding leader must have the ability and discipline to decide effectively, timely, and correctly.
The reason most people never become outstanding leaders is becausethe higher you go in an organization,the faster you need to be able to make decisions. Usually, this is also with less information and resulting in a greater impact.
If you cannot decide what to do about one or two employees, how are you going to handle it when your decisions affect thousands?
If you can’t manage a budget of one hundred thousand dollars, how will you manage a ten million or 100-million-dollar budget?
All great leaders must be able to make decisions. Whether in the home, in business or in any other area of life.
How often have you been in a meeting where everyone is discussing an issue, but no one is willing to just simply step up and make a decision? Everyone will talk about it, argue about it, and getangry about it, yet no one will just step up and say, let’s make a decision here and more forward.
Outstanding leadership requires the ability to make decisions, the willingness to put your neck on the line and the courage to stand up and make it happen.
Many talkabout it, but few can do it.
Joyce Meyer puts it as simply as you can in her book, “100 Ways to Simplify Your Life.”
“You cannot drive a parked car. You see, God has only one gear, forward. Sometimes we need to do something just to keep from continuing to do nothing”.
John Maxwell says it,
“The number one characteristic of a good leader – The ability to make things happen.”
Risk – putting your neck on the line.
If you are unwilling to take the risk, why are you in a leadership position? Leadership means taking the risk. People with a low tolerance for risk should not be leading. The inability to risk means there is fear. Fear creates a low propensity for success.
Courage – means the willingness to stand up and take a shot.
It means having the conviction you know what you are doing and actually doing it.
Remember what Howard Hendricks says: “The opposite of courage isn’t cowardice, it is conformity”.
The English word courage comes from the French word, “Coeur”,which means heart.
Here are 7 points for you to think about related to decision making.
1/ You must be willing to move forward without all the information.
2/ You must be able to handle the flack that occurs because of the decision you make.
3/ You might have to be unpopular in the short term.
4/ You must have conviction about the decision you are making and the willingness to stand up for it.
5/ Time is not always on your side; you might have to decide now.
6/ You must be able to handle the impact of the decision. It might affect people’s lives beyond yourcomfort zone.
- It might be the wrong decision,and you have to be able to move on.
To learn more about these 7, please listen to our podcast – click here
Outstanding leaders make decisions when they have to make them. Plain and simple. If you want to be outstanding, then work on getting better and better, each and every day.
The bottom line, as told by one of my great mentors, Nate, “Just make a decision, now. If you are wrong, then you will have to make another decision. Stop holding back”.
This article comes directly from Chapter 2 of my new book. Please click to order your copy today.