The process of deciding has a cost

Want to be more of a leader? Pay attention to how you make decisions.

As your circle of influence grows, more of your impact will be based on the quality of the decisions you make.

But “decision fatigue” is real. Every choice you make depletes some of your decision-making energy.

To lead well, you’ll want to spend that energy on the decisions that will have the most impact.

💡 Consider which repetitive decisions you can turn into routines. (What you wear, what you eat, what route to take to work)

💡 Consider which decisions you can delegate to others. This has the added benefit of empowering other people and avoiding micromanagement.

💡 Commit to moving on after a decision has been made. Don’t keep replaying or wondering if you made the right choice. That’s just spending decision energy over and over again with no benefit.

💡 Remember that for most choices, “good enough” is, in fact, good enough. Very often, spending more energy won’t result in better decisions. A good leader’s goal usually isn’t to make decisions that nobody can disagree with; it’s to make decisions that help make progress toward goals.

💡 Jeff Bezos once talked about Type 1 (consequential and irreversible) and Type 2 (inconsequential and reversible) decisions. Identifying where each choice falls on that spectrum is itself a decision. If you suspect it’s a Type 1 decision, don’t waste energy second guessing if you’re going to need that energy for your decision.

71% of respondents to a 2022 survey said that “decisiveness” was an important leadership trait, making it the second-highest-ranked trait behind confidence. Learn to budget your decision-making energy, and you can improve your success as a leader.