Change your Mindset Idea #7: Take Action - not all decisions should take weeks

Then length of time it takes for many decisions to be made within the financial services industry concerns me. In a time in history where speed, responsiveness and being nimble is critical, the slow pace of decisions in this industry is nearly equal to doing nothing at all.

I postulate that fear is what keeps people from making decisions, fear of making the wrong one, fear of being judged, or fear of taking a stand on an issue. These are normal human challenges, all of which can be overcome. Here are two things you can do to help break the bottleneck of slow decision making at your institution and help propel the culture within your organization:

Push decision making authority down the chain of command: Empower some of your colleagues who may or may not be direct reports to make some of the decisions. Not only would this boost their motivation, but it would be your chance for a vote of confidence in their abilities.

Create a Culture of Asking for Forgiveness not Permission! The most successful companies not only empower their employees to make decisions, but to learn from their mistakes, not try to prevent them from making them in the first place. When an employee knows that he or she is supported and that the team “has his/her back”, they will do what is necessary to get the job done.

Take up these two ideas at your next management meeting and watch for the reaction of your younger colleagues. It is a sure way to help build buy in among this group.