Indecision feels safe but quietly drains credibility, learning, and influence. Choose, learn, iterate—because in leadership, no vote eventually counts as a “no” for your career.

Narrative
Jada ran a project team but dodged every hard call—always “needing more data.” Projects stalled, her team lost faith, and leadership skipped her for promotion. She never made a wrong decision; she just never made one at all.

Key Dangers of Riding the Fence

1. You broadcast fear, not neutrality
   Repeated delays and “let’s circle back” language tell colleagues you care more about staying liked than leading.
2. You trade growth for temporary safety
   Avoiding risks means avoiding the lessons that come from small failures—exactly the experiences that sharpen judgment and build a strong résumé.
3. You invite rumors of incompetence
   When people can’t see your convictions, they assume you don’t have any—or don’t know enough to form them.

Expert Take

• Decisiveness signals competence. Studies show managers who decide quickly are rated more capable, even when accuracy matches slower peers.
• Failure fuels mastery. High-performing teams learn faster because they treat mistakes as data, not disasters.
• Ownership drives advancement. Executives promote employees who choose a path and own the result; facilitation alone rarely wins sponsorship.

How to Break the Habit

• Set a firm deadline for every decision. Commit publicly to choose by that date.
• Use a 70 % rule. If evidence is good enough and risk of ruin is low, act. Adjust later if needed.
• Start small. Take visible ownership of low-stakes calls to build the muscle.
• Debrief quickly. Capture one lesson, refine, move on—no rumination.

Bottom Line
Indecision may keep you comfortable today, but it silently erodes trust, learning, and upward mobility. Make the call, own the outcome, and let progress—not paralysis—define your leadership.