Being decisive doesn’t always mean making one big call. Sometimes it means making smaller decisions faster, learning as you go and taking the next useful step.
We often picture decisive leaders as people who make big calls quickly: we’re going left or right, we’re all in or we’re out.
But framing every decision as large, consequential and irreversible can actually make it harder to decide. We analyse, gather more information, discuss it again – and two weeks later, the same decision is back on the leadership table.
There’s another way to think about decisiveness: make the decision smaller, take a useful step, learn something and decide again.
Listen to this Episode on the Culture Bites Podcast
In this episode of Culture Bites, Dominic Gourley continues the Leader’s Toolbox series by exploring how leaders can make decisions with less certainty, use experiments to learn faster and avoid getting stuck in analysis paralysis.
Make Smaller Decisions Faster
Most business decisions aren’t completely irreversible.
Instead of asking, “Do we commit to this or not?”, ask: “What’s the next useful decision we can make?”
If you’re considering entering a new market, for example, you may not need to immediately commit to a new office and significant investment. Could you test demand first? Put one salesperson into the market? Work from a co-working space?
You’re still moving forward, but you’re gathering information that makes the next decision easier.
Rather than making one big decision slowly, look for opportunities to make smaller decisions quickly.
Stop Reckoning and Start Finding Out
Organisations can spend a lot of time debating what they think will happen.
Will customers like it? Will employees use it? Will the new process save time?
Instead of another meeting, could you run an experiment?
Test the process with one team. Create a prototype. Put an idea in front of a handful of customers.
Ask: What’s the smallest experiment we could run to learn something useful?
A genuine experiment should also allow for the possibility that the idea doesn’t work. Decide what you’re trying to learn and what success looks like before you begin.
Then use what you learn to continue, change, scale or stop.
Make the Uncertainty Specific
“We need more information” can easily become another way of delaying a decision.
Instead, ask: What information would genuinely change our decision?
If you need to know whether customers will pay a certain price, test it. If recruitment is the concern, explore the market. If you’re unsure whether a new process will work, trial it.
Turning uncertainty into a specific question gives you something you can actually investigate.
Good Decisions Don’t Always Produce Good Outcomes
Drawing on Annie Duke’s Thinking in Bets, Dominic highlights an important distinction: a good decision and a good outcome aren’t always the same thing.
You can follow a thoughtful process and still get an unfortunate result. You can also make a poor decision and get lucky.
For leaders, the question shouldn’t only be “Did it work?”
Ask whether you understood the risks, considered the evidence, tested assumptions and made a reasonable decision based on what you knew at the time.
This matters for culture too. If people are punished every time a calculated risk doesn’t work out, they learn to avoid decisions and push them upwards.
Move, Learn, Adjust
Decisiveness isn’t about knowing you’re right.
It’s about making the best decision you reasonably can, understanding the risks and being willing to move, learn and adjust.
If a decision keeps coming back around the leadership table, ask:
- Can we make the decision smaller?
- What’s the next reversible step?
- What information would actually change our decision?
- Could we test or prototype it?
Sometimes the best way to stop thinking about a decision is to start finding out.
Build Leadership Capability That Lasts
Better decisions are part of better leadership.
Human Synergistics combines insight, coaching and practical leadership development to help leaders turn what they know into what they actually do – creating better conversations, better decisions and better leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to be decisive as a leader?
Being decisive means being willing to move forward without waiting for perfect certainty. Often, that means taking the next useful step, learning and deciding again.
How can leaders avoid analysis paralysis?
Identify what information would genuinely change the decision, then look for a small experiment, prototype or reversible step that can help you find out.
What is iterative decision making?
It means making smaller decisions, learning from the results and using that information to make the next decision rather than trying to predict everything upfront.
Can a good decision have a bad outcome?
Yes. Outcomes are affected by uncertainty and factors outside our control. That’s why leaders should consider the quality of the decision-making process as well as the final result.
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