Don’t mix up an indecisive boss with a no-decision boss.

Indecisive bosses need help to make their decisions. They might be afraid to decide, or afraid to hurt someone with their decision, or they are looking for the perfect decision which doesn’t exist. Once a subordinate has learnt what the indecisive boss needs, then he or she can help, and with the help decisions will come.

No-decision bosses need someone to jump in and make the decision in their place. They don’t want help because they never make decisions, so helping them with additional information or a detailed analysis of advantages and disadvantages of various alternatives, or anything else, is just a waste of time. This is what I call ‘deviated delegation’ where subordinates make the decision on their own initiative without any instruction from the no-decision boss.

Indecisive bosses do not accept that subordinates jump in to make the decision in their place.

Do not make this mistake.  

Here the indecisive manager will suddenly become decisive and consider an initiative of decision-making to be insubordination.  This is proof that the boss is NOT a no-decision manager, simply an indecisive one, but too late for the subordinate!