♫ Be prepared for indecision
It might make me disappear
But then again, my addiction
To indecision keeps me here…♫

Lyrics  and music by: Stephen Duffy and Steven Page, recorded by Stephen Page.

This is another guest post from Beth Flynn of the  Ohio State University Leadership Center.

To be a successful leader-manager, you have to be decisive. Probably the most frustrating thing to employees is working for a leader who can’t make a decision. The phrase “don’t be a definite maybe” is well known. The problem is that no one believes he or she is a definite maybe. The term itself is demeaning by what it implies. We all think we make decisions in a prompt or decisive manner, but I wonder if that is true and if it is what our employees think. I found that most leaders could make decisions about things quite easily. It’s making decisions about people that is difficult. In many cases, middle managers can’t make people decisions, or they will vacillate over them. When it becomes apparent to people in the organization that they are working for a definite maybe, they begin to lose confidence in that person’s leadership completely (Monastero, 2010, p. 75).

From: Monastero, S. (2010). Winning at leadership: how to become an effective leader. Bloomington, IN: IUNIVERSE, Inc. Winning at Leadership is available from the OSU Leadership Center.  Click here to borrow this resource.

Learn how the Ohio State University Leadership Center is inspiring others to take a leadership role that empowers the world at http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu 

To begin receiving Leadership Moments, or to update your information, please click on Join Our Mailing List.

Thanks Beth for another great leadership post on how all of us can move towards being a better leader by leaving our addiction to indecision behind!