Taking too long to assess a situation can be detrimental for any leader. When it comes to looking at an issue, leaders must do a quick read and scan and then dive in further. This ability to size up a situation is what allows them to not get taken down by the age-old problem of analysis paralysis.
Leaders making decisions must often do so swiftly. There are emergency situations, unexpected conflicts, or time-sensitive issues. No matter what it is, someone out in front of others will be expected to act decisively. To do so requires that a leader is not overwhelmed, stays focused on the intended outcomes, and thinks clearly about consequences.
But, this does not always happen. Frequently those who are in the driver’s seat take too long to make a decision. As with any driving situation, they scope out the circumstance, determine an appropriate action, but delay in responding.
In the workplace or within community endeavors, people over-think and over-examine a situation. This means they can get stuck in their own thinking. Debates go on for hours. Differences are not settled and, thus, the issues do not get resolved. In other words, in the end nothing gets done.
Furthermore, leaders can make delayed decisions when they are unfamiliar with a course of action. Without having the experience, quite frankly they do not know how to act or what to do. In these situations, leaders often make a rash decision or do not act at all. Other times they allow themselves to be negatively influenced by others and still nothing gets resolved.
If leaders today were more proactive to examine a situation, plot next steps, and take action then they would likely have greater success rather than analysis paralysis.
Dawn McCoy
Author of Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider’s Guide to Success
