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We are sometimes pushed by outside factors to quickly be hyper-decisive out of necessity.  In those moments, we can feel rushed, reactive, and ill-equipped.  When the pressure is not there, however, we miss opportunities to build ourselves a smooth pathway that is paved with decisions.  Small but grounded decisions can remove external uncertainties, reduce team-wide confusion, and reverse personal ambivalence.

Being misunderstood by others can be so frustrating! It is tempting to believe it’s all their fault, their deficiency. If only those “other people” whom we care about, work with, report to, and supervise did not misconstrue our words with their own misguided thinking. Then they could fully leverage our contributions!

Good news! We all have a renewable resource at our disposal that we should use more often. It is the invaluable response of “No”.

A “NO OUTLET” street sign near my house inspired this column, while I was walking my dog. Whenever I believe that I have no choices in a tricky situation, I viscerally feel my confidence slip away.

Humor me while I do some self-coaching here. I am self-aware enough to know that I place a high value on being productive and helpful. These two tendencies often serve others well.

I often help top leaders figure out what capabilities to cultivate in themselves and their senior managers. I’ve also guided several strategic planning efforts recently. Both situations raised the same tension: Balancing big picture, strategic thinking with a focus on functional and tactical effectiveness.