The Most Important Thing You Do Every Day Is Decide

What’s the most valuable thing you do in a typical workday?

Chances are, it’s not answering emails. It’s not attending meetings. It’s not even hitting your KPIs.

It’s making decisions.

Every choice you make — what to prioritise, who to hire, which risks to take, what to say yes or no to — is a tiny lever with the power to shift outcomes. You may not notice it in the moment, but over time, the quality of your decisions compounds.

Decisions are the currency of leadership. They're how we shape strategy, culture, performance, and progress. And yet, many of us treat them like just another task on the to-do list — something to tick off quickly so we can get back to “real work.”

But the truth is, decisions are the work.

Decisions as Value Creation

In a knowledge economy, what separates high performers isn’t how much they know — it’s how well they decide. The best decision-makers don’t have perfect information. What they have is a clear process, a tolerance for ambiguity, and the ability to align short-term actions with long-term goals.

When you think of decisions this way, it changes how you spend your time. Instead of rushing through them, you create space for the ones that matter. You surface assumptions. You test different perspectives. You avoid the trap of false urgency.

You also realise that not deciding is a decision — with its own consequences.

Decision-Making as a Leadership Skill

We often talk about leadership in terms of vision or influence. But underneath both is decision-making. Great leaders make decisions others are afraid to make. They’re willing to say, “This is the direction,” even when the path ahead is foggy.

Importantly, they also help others make better decisions — by framing problems clearly, defining success criteria, and encouraging ownership.

If you want your team to step up, don’t just give them more responsibility. Give them permission — and support — to make meaningful decisions. It’s how people grow.

Upgrading Your Decision Practice

If decisions are your most valuable output, it makes sense to improve your practice. That means asking questions like:

• How do I currently make decisions?

• When do I feel most confident in my choices?

• What patterns show up in the decisions I regret?

• Do I give myself the right conditions — time, space, input — to decide well?

  
  

Just like athletes review game footage to improve performance, leaders should review the decisions they make — and the ones they avoid.

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