3 Reasons why you should decide early

There are many things that make someone a great leader, and decision making is inevitably very high up that list.

When I talk about making a decision, I mean choosing one path to travel down and cutting off all the other options. Some people argue with that mentality, saying that it is good to keep options open. Here are the three main reasons why I stand by my theory:

1) Solution providing vs ‘Oh no, we have a problem’

Knowing that you are going to be making a definite decision about your plan of action means that you become a lot more focussed on what you can do to add / get benefit, rather than focussing on the ‘problem / issue’ itself. This allows you to be on the front foot and fully in control of your immediate destiny.

2) Ability to deliver with passion and certainty

When a decision has been made, it is clear for everyone involved what their course of action needs to be. Because they have this clarity, they are able to fully commit to and be passionate in the delivery of their role. When people lack the clarity, (even if the right actions are being made) the lack of decisiveness means they are likely to be laboured and / or hesitant in their delivery.

3) Lessons are learned

You cannot be scared of making wrong decisions as a leader; you have to accept that sometimes you are going to make decisions that people glorify you for, and sometimes you are going to make heinous errors of judgement. Failure and error are a big part of learning, progressing, and making bigger and better decisions moving forwards.

Make decisions. Get used to it. Small decisions like what to have for dinner, and big decisions like the best way to go to market with a new product; make the decision, commit to it completely, and learn from the results. Just like everything else in life, the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

Don’t suffer the fate of the lobster!

As I walked into my hotel shower last night, I felt a burn from the seemingly boiling water. However, the temp was set the same as the beautiful shower I had earlier that day. Why the different reaction? Earlier in the day, I had increased the heat gradually. Ahhhhh!

This led me to two thoughts:

i) If you put yourself in too much heat too fast, you will burn. However, by gradually increasing the heat (difficulty), you can bare more and more as you become comfortable at each stage.

ii) A lobster who is in a pan of water that gradually increases in heat will be in boiling water before he knows it. And that doesn’t end well for the lobster!

Life is about increasing the heat that you can bare. It is about growth, progression, and development. So what can we do to make sure that we are able to increase the heat that stretches us, without becoming like the lobster that suffers a fate he was blind to?

1) Reflect on where you are right now.
Be constantly curious about your current state and situation. Are you in water that you can handle? Are you learning anything in this water or are you just in a state of ease and comfort? Do you actually want to be in this water?

2) Ask critical questions about your next steps.
If you’re the lobster, you can’t exactly ask anyone else how you can get out the pan, but you’re not a lobster so you have the ability to seek the help of people who can help you out of your current state into an even better one. You can also question yourself. Are you ready to increase the heat? How could you do it? To what level? What support do you need? What can you do to prepare for the extra heat?

3) Embrace the heat.
If you’ve decided that this pan is going to develop you instead of boiling you like a lobster, and you have been strategic in your planning and approach, it’s now time to know that the heat you’re facing / about to face will be great for you. Stagnation equals boredom and a lack of fulfilment. Embrace the heat, increase your threshold, and make the jump between where you are now and where you want to be.

World Class Support

Last week, I was asked to speak at Emirates Stadium at an event for Arsenal F.C.

I shared a couple of simple strategies with them around goal setting, but the most important thing I spoke about was the need for a world class support team.

You cannot be successful on your own, no matter how hard you try.

– Identify the areas you need support in for you to achieve your goals
– Hand pick the best person to support you in each area
– Convince them to join you on the journey
– Stick with them throughout

Click here to see the article written about it on Arsenal’s website.