How often do you delay big decisions out of fear?

Our reader poll today asks: How often do you delay big decisions out of fear of being wrong?

– Never — I always make decisions promptly: 28.72%
– Sometimes — I’m occasionally afraid to make the call: 62.05%
– Often — big decisions are hard for me to make: 7.86%
– Always — I get stuck between fear and making the call: 1.37%

Overcoming your fears. Fear and decision making go hand in hand.  We could be wrong.  We could look silly.  We could get fired.  That said, the mantle of leadership requires us to take those chances.  You can get over these fears pretty easily.  Simply adopt an approach of understanding the true risks and know where your uncertainty resides.  Once you’ve done that, the big decision will seem much smaller.  A final point that can help you overcome these fears is that most decisions can be undone.  Sure, it requires swallowing your pride but wouldn’t you prefer to make the right call rather than continue being wrong?

Do you agree with these poll results?  Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.