Management Tip of The Day by HBR

Getting People to Decide Already:

Indecisiveness plagues many companies. Often, both leaders and employees struggle to make or follow through on decisions. The result? Chronic underperformance. You can conquer this and infuse decisiveness throughout your organization by doing these three things:

• Engage in decisive dialogue. During each interaction with employees, model honest, open, and decisive dialogue. Make sure every meeting ends with a clear understanding of decisions and next steps.
• Turn dialogue into action. Indecision is often the result of confusion. Clarify accountability for reaching and executing decisions.
• Use follow-through and feedback to sustain action. Once you've set an expectation for decisiveness, you need to follow through. Give people honest feedback and discourage indecisive behaviors.
  
  Know Your Unwritten Plan

  When preparing for the future, you need two plans—one you write down, and one that's unwritten, fluid, and evolving. This blueprint exists in your mind as a living, changing understanding of where you're going, why you're going there, and how you're going to get there—all based on your current understanding of how the future will unfold. While your written plan includes specific objectives, action steps, and clear assumptions, the unwritten one consists of gut feel, general direction, and broad priorities. Over time, as you gather information and test ideas, you'll move many of these elements from hazy and unspoken to focused and written.