Unlocking the Vision: Deciding is not the key

I believe that every leader knows that decision making goes with the territory. This is true for everyone, whether you believe you're in a leadership position or not, decision making is an everyday thing for all of us. We decide if we want to get out of bed each morning. We decide if we want to go to work and on how we get to work. Do I go to the building or do I login from home? What colors should I wear today? What will I eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner? 

The decisions go on and on and on. As a matter of fact, according to the PBS North Carolina website and Frank Graff, the average adult makes around 35,000 decisions per day. Wow! That's a whole lot of decision making. And we wonder why our brains are fried at the end of the day...hmmmm.

But wait, if that number of decisions per day is for the average adult, what's the tally like for organizational leaders? That idea seems almost unimaginable, but I've discovered that leaders often need to do a bit more than make decisions. Leaders, sometimes, must drill down a bit further and do more than just decide. Put another way, there are times when making 35,000 decisions for the day won't cut it, simply because a situation may arise that demands more than a decision.

So, what's more than a decision? Well, there inevitably comes a time when every leader must resolve 'to do', or 'not to do'. Any leader who wants to make a change, or make a mark, must go beyond making decisions and come to a resolve.  I could have said come to a resolution, but I didn't want to risk this sounding like those new year's promises that get swept under the rug by January 2.

What's the difference? Well, to decide means the leader sees options and simply chooses one. The choice could depend on any number of factors, good or bad, objective, or subjective. Either way, the leader makes a choice. Is it the best choice? Would the leader make the same choice tomorrow given the same situation? Or would the choice change with the situation? I'm pretty sure this all sounds familiar – it’s the I'll eat pasta today because I don't see Chinese Fried Rice on the menu type of conversation that we have with ourselves. In other words, decisions are typically conditional.

However, when a leader comes to a resolve, it means the leader has recognized the situation as a problem and has determined that an action must be taken to solve that problem. The action taken, the resolve 'to do' or 'not do' is not dependent on any factors that may change, it's not dependent on circumstances or feelings; it’s not conditional. The action taken is what stands, no matter what.  Resolve is why Jim Abbott was chosen as a member of the US Baseball team, for the 1988 Olympics, after having been born without a right hand. It's how Wilma Rudolph overcame childhood polio to become a record holding track Olympian. It's what compelled Bobby McFerrin to practice 2 hours a day, for 6 years, before taking to the stage to crystallize, what he describes as, his crazy vision of solo vocal improvisation without any instrumental accompaniment.

Visionary leaders are about dreams and transformation. Transformation calls for change.  For change to happen and for change to take root, leaders can’t just decide, they must come to a resolve. To bring a vision to life, leaders must go deeper than simply making decisions, they must come to a resolve. Something must keep the leader going when the odds seem to be stacked against them.  Something must keep the leader on track when the lights of distraction begin to flash. Something must keep the leader growing when the cool breezes of comfort whisper you’ve arrived, you can settle.  Real leaders understand that to make a mark, to take a stand, to make a change, to bring transformation, to achieve the vision, you can’t simply decide. You must resolve.