Avoid, Delay, Procrastinate: 6 Decisions Leaders Keep Putting Off

The United States of America’s 250th anniversary. World Cup Soccer. And the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. I am not sure which of these got the most press and social media attention this July, but I would place my bet on America’s Royal Wedding getting its fair share of clicks! After all, who has a wedding at Madison Square Garden officiated by Happy Gilmore (sorry, I mean, Adam Sandler) with a guest list of 1,000 that included the biggest names in Hollywood, music, and sports? In explaining why she was going to invite so many people, Taylor said she didn’t want to make any of the hard decisions, so she was inviting everyone she knew! Anyone who has planned a wedding can appreciate this dilemma.

Avoiding hard decisions is not unique to Taylor Swift. Some leaders are also notorious for evading difficult yet important decisions. But in contrast to a wedding with consequences of only a few hurt feelings, when leaders avoid decisions, the harm to their organization and their credibility is far greater and longer lasting. Here are 6 decisions where leaders often procrastinate but shouldn’t.

1. Hiring

Some leaders miss the opportunity to hire great talent because they second-guess themselves, are uncertain which candidate to choose, or are not confident regarding whether they should create the position. Such delays result in missed opportunities as well as the potential for talented candidates to move to a more decisive organization.

This is in contrast to one of the successful business owners I know who is willing to make hard decisions fast. If he sees unique talent and potential, he will hire the person even if he did not yet have a position! This has led to a team of awesome people.

2. Firing

It will come as no surprise that many managers, leaders, and boards especially procrastinate when it comes to firing someone. After all, they know that by firing someone, they will cause pain not only to the employee but to their family as well. Most people are conflict avoiders, and firing often involves having someone really, really not like you. Evading the decision to fire someone often has unintended effects including rewarding poor performance of the person who should be fired, demoralizing the rest of your team, and even hurting your constituents.

I remember one leader who, due to a personal friendship, was very slow to fire someone showing serious character flaws that could put the organization at risk. While the person was eventually fired, it was likely a bit too delayed. Firing is painful, but it is one of the responsibilities that comes with the position.

3. Promoting

If firing is one of the hard parts of leading an organization, promoting should be the fun part, right? People like to be promoted and will like you for choosing them. But choosing to promote one person often means choosing not to promote someone else. For example, for every athlete selected to play on a World Cup soccer team, hundreds were passed over. It is this very dilemma that causes some managers to procrastinate.

Delaying a promotion can result in a top team member interpreting the inaction as a lack of confidence in their worthiness and therefore deciding to look for other job opportunities. Or worse, some managers end up promoting the less worthy candidate for personal or political reasons.

4. Selling

Deciding if or when to sell a business is sometimes even harder than starting one. Owners face many stressful factors that contribute to delays in selling. For example: What am I going to do with my life if I sell? How will it impact my employees and customers? Am I in the right financial shape to sell now? How will this decision impact my family? How will I know I am getting the right price for my business?

The more these factors accumulate, the more likely it is for a business owner to become overwhelmed and procrastinate. Professional counsel can help owners address each of these obstacles and make the process more manageable. Procrastination will rarely make the decision easier in the future.

5. Downsizing

While it may be an unfortunate necessity in some circumstances, downsizing is seldom the sole long-term solution for an organization facing hard times. This is true for all types of organizations, including nonprofits, churches, and businesses. But when the decision to downsize is necessary yet evaded, even greater damage can occur, such as essential employees leaving the “ship” before it sinks. Or when the leadership reduces benefits and flattens salaries for everyone rather than making the necessary cuts and it results in lost incentives for those who are adding the most value to the enterprise.

Organizations that are too slow at rightsizing the staff to better align with the revenue, market conditions, and their overall needs can end up facing far more dire consequences later.

6. Succession planning

I recently read an article about how JP Morgan has lost some senior-level talent due to the delayed transition of its CEO, Jamie Dimon. I can only imagine how complicated succession planning is at such an influential company. While I know nothing about the inner workings of JP Morgan, I do know that passing on the baton of leadership, even in smaller organizations, is anything but easy.

A board of a nonprofit organization may fear the financial impact if a CEO steps down. A privately owned family business may fear conflict among family members based upon who would or would not be selected. But such avoidance often fails to consider the potential risks and costs of delaying, including loss of talented team members and missed opportunities that would have resulted from fresh ideas.

When it comes to her wedding decision, Taylor Swift had it easy by removing the harder choices. And she and Travis are wealthy enough to do it! If I had that kind of money, I would too. However, most leaders and managers do not have the luxury of avoiding the hard decisions without costs.

Our team of trusted advisors can help you determine the right decision at the right time. Contact us to learn more.

Jay Desko is the President & CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.

Recent Posts