I work with a lot of capable, intelligent people.
And for one reason or another, so many of them end up in the same trap: wrestling with one decision for weeks.
Then, worrying that they aren’t proactive enough with their business.
And possibly getting themselves caught in a cycle of indecision followed by frustration with that very indecision.
Now, usually, this is painted as a character flaw: something you either have or don’t, and that you can fight against but never truly overcome.
But in my experience, when business leaders think they aren’t proactive enough there’s almost always something else going on.
The decision that never gets made
In most cases, the real problem isn’t that someone can’t decide.
It’s that they struggle to find a moment when they have everything they need to make that decision well.
And in business moments to do anything thoughtful can be few and far between.
Think about the last time you felt genuinely stuck on something, or reluctant to commit to a choice.
Was it because you didn’t know the answer? Or was it because the answer felt uncertain? Or costly? Or because you weren’t entirely sure what you were actually trying to achieve?
More often than not, it’s the last one on that list – whether that’s conscious or not.
For most people, the problem isn’t trying to make any decision at all, it’s trying to make the right one. And if you don’t have clarity on what the end goal really is, that’s going to be near impossible.
Good decisiveness doesn’t come from being braver or more confident. It comes from having clarity about where you’re heading – and therefore being able to judge whether a particular choice moves you closer or further away.
Without that foundation, every decision becomes a gamble.
What ‘proactive’ actually means
There’s a version of proactivity that looks like urgency. “Moving fast and breaking things.”
We see these characters in films and on television all the time: fast-paced business people making calls, firing off emails, getting things done.
But that’s often a kind of ‘busyness’ masquerading as decisiveness.
Real proactivity isn’t so brash. It’s the discipline of working on what matters before it becomes urgent. Of making decisions while you still have the space to think, rather than when you’re already under pressure.
The most decisive leaders I work with aren’t necessarily the quickest to answer. They’re the ones who have thought carefully about where they’re going – so that when a decision arrives, they already know what they’re aiming at.
Then, the decision almost makes itself.
Building the conditions for better decisions
So how do you get there?
- Start with the destination. If you’re not clear on what the business needs to achieve in the next year or two, almost every decision will feel harder than it should. So dust off that business plan and set your goals.
- Reduce the distractions. Many leaders are trying to decide too many things. They haven’t yet made the harder choice of letting certain decisions sit with other people. That means their own judgement is stretched across too many competing priorities, and they struggle to find the headspace to decide well. Getting clearer on what genuinely needs your attention – and what doesn’t – is one of the most liberating things you can do.
- Give yourself permission to decide with imperfect information. Waiting for certainty is a form of procrastination. In most business decisions, you will never have all the information you’d like. The goal isn’t a perfect choice – it’s a considered one, made in good time.
On the subject of decisions: I’ve just written a brand new guide that looks at how to be more successful, more of the time. It’s called How to Make Better Business Decisions and takes a closer look with a quick step-by-step process for getting clarity and taking action. It’s based on my years of experience not just as a coach but building my own businesses – and even better, it’s completely free.
Quick win: the habit to get you started
There’s one practical thing I suggest to nearly every client who struggles with this.
Set aside regular, protected time to think. Not to respond, not to problem-solve in the moment – just to think.
Proactivity, at its heart, is a thinking habit. It’s the practice of looking ahead rather than reacting. And that only becomes possible when you create the time and space for it.
Even half an hour a week, or a couple of hours every month – uninterrupted, away from the inbox – can begin to shift the way you work. Problems that used to ambush you start to feel like things you saw coming. Decisions that used to linger start to resolve.
Because when you’ve thought them through in advance, they’re not really decisions at all. They’re just the next step.
If you’d like to talk about how to build more clarity and decisiveness into the way you lead, drop me a line.
Kind Regards,
Chris