When a decision needs to be made, waiting for perfect data often leads to inaction, missed opportunities, and lost momentum. In both the military and business, the ability to make quick, informed decisions is crucial.

In military training, leaders are taught that doing something – anything – is better than waiting. Inaction allows the enemy to outmaneuver you, and while the stakes in business are different, the principle remains: your competitors are always moving. Hesitation can leave you vulnerable. As General George Patton said, “A good plan, (violently) executed now, is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

Keep the Project Moving Forward

In business, maintaining progress is key. Trust your instincts – they’re built on experience and expertise. While new information may later challenge your decision, you can always adjust course. The priority is to keep momentum. 

Rely on your team of experts. Listening to their input is key to gaining valuable insights and perspectives that may influence your decision. However, after gathering their advice and reviewing the available data, the responsibility to decide rests with you as the leader. Delaying too long for more data can hinder progress, which in business, can be as costly as standing still in the heat of battle.

Explain Your Decision

Once you’ve decided, clearly communicate the rationale behind your choice. Especially if your decision differs from those recommended by some of the team members you consulted. This prevents confusion and speculation. As a mentor of mine once said, “If you don’t explain why a decision was made, people will make up their own reasons, and they won’t be charitable about it.” Explaining the “why” builds understanding and alignment. I’ll go into more about the importance of explaining the “why” in a future article.

Encouraging Key Behaviors

Decisiveness fosters two key behaviors in your team:

1. Acting on the best available information: You set the example for how to make decisions confidently and avoid overthinking.
2. Being flexible and open to corrections: Mistakes happen, but what’s important is the ability to adjust and learn from them.

Building Confidence and Adaptability

Decisiveness builds trust in your leadership and encourages your team to be proactive. It also teaches them to be flexible, adapting quickly to change. Whether in the military or business, this combination of confidence and adaptability is essential for success.

Decisive leadership is about moving forward with the best knowledge available, being open to adjustments, and fostering a resilient, action-oriented mindset in your team. By doing so, you stay ahead of the competition and keep your team engaged and effective.

Have you struggled with trusting your instincts, the data, and the opinions of your team members enough to take decisive action quickly?  How did you overcome it? What could you use help with?