Decision paralysis: the perils for leadership action and inaction

By Frank Adu Anim

 Many of us operate in leadership roles whether as organizational leaders, team leaders, business owners, coaches for teams or as family heads. Leadership requires us to embody the right values and skills. However, the demands of leadership can exact a high price. The higher the level of leadership, the greater the risks involved.

Leadership requires decisiveness, an attitude of self-awareness because many leaders at a certain point will face psychological battle of fear of failure, the lack of experience and a desire for perfection and if these attitudinal state are not managed well could lead to paralyzing decision-making.

Improving leadership will require a commitment to certain key practices, creating an environment where leaders can listen, learn and adapt. By so doing, leaders can foster more effective and a demonstrated will and passion to succeed.

In an insightful research into indecision by the Harvard Business School unveils that decisiveness, not necessarily accuracy, sets apart the most effective leaders. And that, high-performing leaders distinguish themselves not by infallibility but by their swift and confident decision-making.

They act promptly and firmly, even in ambiguity and with partial information. It further reveals that, decisive leaders are more likely to be high-performing, embodying the principle that a swift decision, even if imperfect, often outweighs the cost of inaction.

The clichés fail fast’ and ‘learn from mistakes’ brings to the point that, the leader cannot learn from a mistake without first taking the decision to start something and failing in it. It is said that, a good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed at a later date, a message that drives home that, in decisive leadership one does not usually wait for complete certainty to take decisions rather, difficult choices in a timely and confident manner are made in spite of unclear pathway.

That said, let’s acknowledge that though decision thresholds may vary based on the decision’s magnitude be it smaller or less impactful choices, it may require less deliberation than major strategic moves. The art of decision making lies in balancing speed with information and understanding that in today’s fast-paced business environment, indecision can be costlier than an incorrect decision.

To be indecisive as a leader, is the chronic hesitation to make clear and timely decisions which can be damning on team build up and expectations and of course organizational performance because indecisiveness frequently defer choices, pass off responsibility, and allow consensus concerns to override expediency.

More importantly, organizations with indecisive leaders often miss opportunities as competitors move faster, face internal stagnation which resultant effects brew frustrated employees with lack of direction. More precisely, indecisive leadership often demonstrate low morale, deficient character and a display of lack of confidence in strategic decision making and vision.

This article delves into the perils of indecisiveness, identifies its common signs and offers strategies for overcoming this hurdle, particularly for those in leadership.

What is Decision Paralysis?

The basic principle of choice makes everyone want to choose from options both in our home and work lives. However, too much choice can leave us overwhelmed, making us unable to make even the simplest decision. Many leadership experts have emphasized that decisive leadership considers facts, but make choices in a timely manner based on experience and instinct.

Let me emphasis that, employees will accept occasional mistakes, but grow impatient with perpetual delays. For many leaders, the fear of making a wrong move of choice often leads to chronic delays, delegation of choice and paralysis in the face of critical decision making.

While understanding that such hesitation can severely impact a company’s performance and culture, the question is, should all decisions be reached through polls by the leadership team? Should decisions be deferred at all times seeking excessive opinions? Is consensus the safety net for all major decisions? These behaviors are red flags for indecisiveness.

However, if decisiveness requires setting aside the search for perfection in favor of timely progress, why do so many leaders grapple with making prompt, confident decisions? The issue is that factors like inexperience, fear of wrong choice can breed indecisiveness. And as many leaders worry about failures, they do so with the likely impact haunting their reputations. But the true reputational threat comes from chronic indecisiveness, not isolated wrong moves.

When leaders do not lead

The consequence of lack of leadership is significant damage to an organization. It damages culture, people and the brand. It creates a vacuum, people become frustrated, disengaged and employee buy in is affected.

It must be acknowledged that, the things leaders do not do are more damaging than the things they do in the long term. When the leader accepts toxic behavior, poor performance, mediocrity, the excuse that people are too busy to do what is needed, it comes back to the point of a fear of change, a fear of confrontation, a fear that it is too hard or belief they do not have time. If leadership looks on and nothing happens in terms of committing to addressing critical issues, the organization suddenly is bedeviled with serious challenges in the long run.

Fundamentally, when no action is taking against a toxic star in the organization, not to challenge mediocrity, not addressing punctuality issues, not providing immediate and timely feedback, not to address poor performance, not to trust the team and not to listen to the peoples opinion are recipe for leadership failure and organizational misfortunes.

When there is too much information overload

It is easy to assume that leaders who are provided with a wealth of information will find it easier to make decisions. With the potential for information overload, the opposite can also be true. Too much information leads to a reduced ability to filter the “good” information from the bad, resulting in decision paralysis.

Understanding that risk is inherent in leadership, the big problem is that when decisions are not made timely, it affects the flow of things in the work place. The philosophy that more is lost from indecision than a wrong decision consolidates the standpoint to avoid procrastinating in order to miss opportunities. If the leader makes a decision, he or she can often make adjustments later.

But one cannot bring back an opportunity that was lost. By this, if an organization gets in the habit of blaming decision-makers for constantly changing their minds, that will create paralysis or the feeling that one must stick to a course of action, even if it turns out to be suboptimal.

The Perils of indecisiveness

It is absolutely frustrating to see many executives far removed from the actual execution and rather indulge in day to day micro management of staff. Again, it is crippling for a business when the smallest things have to be approved or managed at the highest level of leadership.

Indecisiveness otherwise decision paralysis can be annoying or frustrating and impactful on team and organization performance. It goes without saying that decision paralysis can lead to missed opportunities and reduced productivity.

The phenomenon can equally impact creativity. When decisions delay or leadership fails to come out with decision roadmap, it has the tendency to stifle employee innovation, identify and address potential problems within the organization. This as a result increases anxiety, missed opportunities and unnecessary spending and organizational inertia.

This chronic indecision has its profound organizational consequences. Employees grow frustrated with lack of direction, causing morale and retention issues. Stalled progress on key initiatives erodes staff motivation. Constant delays signal a lack of confidence and strategic vision from the top.

Indecisive leadership takes a financial toll as well where missed market opportunities due to slow decision making can greatly reduce revenues. Much more, projects costs often escalate during periods of prolonged analysis as well as seeing for publicly traded companies, indecisiveness creates vulnerabilities.

Managing Decision Paralysis

Decision paralysis is something that can affect anyone at any stage of the organizational hierarchy. Overcoming decision paralysis can be challenging, but with time, the process of making decisions within a robust, tried-and-tested framework can help achieve efficiency. Decisiveness is not just a trait but a skill that can be honed.

Leaders should view indecision not as a flaw but as an area for growth. By acknowledging the issue, understanding its roots, and actively seeking improvement, any leader can transform their leadership.

By far the most important thing one can do to prevent decision paralysis is to apply a decision-making framework. This framework will provide everyone with precious parameters to work within, preventing the feeling of anxiety and overwhelm that causes paralysis. Some recommended techniques include:

Implementing decision deadlines

For people struggling to make a decision, committing to a deadline is a great place to start. This will, of course, need to be assigned on a case-by-case basis, but it can help to have some areas for consideration as standard to help the leader make crucial decisions.

If the leader notices that he or she is struggling to, or delaying in making a decision he or she must recognize the potential of decision paralysis. Look at the hard deadlines in place and create your deadline before that. Working backwards to see what one needs to do, and when so that one has dedicated time to get the job done or decision made is helpful.

Filter out the choices

If the leader is faced with a range of possibilities, he or she ought to start by having a quick thought about the desired outcomes and the potential choices. Quickly discard any issue that are not a great fit, leaving yourself with a shortlist of options. This shortlist will be much less daunting and is likely to induce anxiety.

Focus on smaller decisions first

Leaders need to make good decisions quickly to help their businesses succeed and stay ahead of the competition. Sometimes, business leaders get stuck in a pattern of overthinking and indecisiveness, otherwise known as analysis paralysis. They spend all of their time researching and studying the data, never feeling confident about the next step.

If time allows, focus on the smaller, potentially easier decisions first. Inability to make decisions is usually a result of a lack of confidence. It’s amazing how some small wins can boost your confidence. Make the smaller decisions with the “safety net” of knowing that the impact of a bad decision will be minimal. After a few decisions turn out successful, approach bigger issues with more confidence.

Label your feelings

Again, most leaders get stuck when making decisions because at a conscious or unconscious level they sense some potential threat, danger or loss. To feel safer and lessen the anxiety, take the time to label the feelings that are being experienced (e.g., fear, worry or concern), then ask the question, “What is most important here? Allow the answers to guide the right path forward.

Let me emphasis in conclusion that, the ability to make decisions quickly is important in businesses as people in key leadership positions, therefore when we know the decision but cannot commit or move forward, the extra time and energy we spend pondering will not actually lead to a better decision and that identifying the decisions the leader struggles with and creating a timeline gets them off his plate and moving.

Discovery….Thinking solutions, shaping visions.

Frank is the CEO and Strategic Partner of AQUABEV Investment and Discovery Consulting Group. He is an Executive Director and the Lead Coach in Leadership Development and best Business Management practices for Discovery Leadership Masterclass. Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Tel: 233-0241824033/ 233-0501324604

 

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