Deal with an indecisive boss

A key skill in a good boss is decisiveness. A boss who is constantly changing their mind — or is too wishy-washy to make a decision — is an ineffective leader. What can you do if you feel your boss is clearly avoiding their decision-making responsibility? We look at what the experts advise.

Is it really indecision?

Have you considered that your boss may not be a micromanager? Sydney Finkelstein, author of Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, says it may be possible that your boss isn’t telling you what to do because they expect you to “step up” and “confidently go after responsibility”. Instead of waiting for a decision, try presenting a well-documented one to your boss.

Understand their view

Perhaps your boss has another perfectly good reason for not making a decision. As Jory MacKay writes on Blog.RescueTime.com, you may not understand the whole context. “They have a longer view of the company,” he writes, “and what seems like an easy decision for you might have further-reaching repercussions.” Can you find out what the reasons or repercussions might be?

Provide support

What if your boss just can’t make up their mind? In their book Working with Difficult People, Amy Cooper Hakim and Muriel Solomon suggest that you will then need to earn their trust and become an enabler of their decisions. “Bosses who vacillate can be bolstered by receiving clear, concise, pertinent information,” they argue. The key is to provide “whatever data is needed to make good, solid, final decisions.”

Lower the stress

It’s stressful having an indecisive boss. But what if your boss is also feeling stressed out? In this case, you need to lower the stress for both of you. On TheJobNetwork.com, Eric Titner advises against a confrontation when you need a decision, as that only increases the stress factor. Instead, always adopt “a calm and patient manner,” he says. Titner also suggests that you keep a paper trail of all decisions. Use email! That way, you can show the effects of your boss’s indecision on your productivity. This can help minimize its effects on your career. And, as an added bonus, a paper trail might help reduce your own feelings of stress.