Stop Bringing Leaders Options. Start Bringing Recommendations.

Early in my career, I thought being prepared meant having all the information. Do the research. Understand the alternatives. Organize the details. Present them clearly. Then let the leader decide. It felt responsible. Thorough. Professional. Until one conversation changed the way I thought about my role.

I was working as a Marketing Coordinator for a hydraulic pump manufacturer in Iowa. We were considering three different logo options, and I had done what I thought was expected of me. I gathered the options. I organized the information. I walked into my Marketing Director’s office ready to present them. He looked at the three choices and asked me a simple question:

“Which one do you recommend?”

I wasn’t prepared for that question. I had prepared to present information. I hadn’t prepared to have an opinion.

From Information Provider to Advisor

My instinct was to explain the pros and cons of each option and let him choose. But that wasn’t what he wanted from me. He wanted to know which one I believed was right and why. In essence, he was telling me: Don’t just bring me options. Think about them. Evaluate them. Make a recommendation. And be prepared to explain your reasoning.

It seems like a small moment now. At the time, it was a significant shift in how I saw myself professionally. I had been approaching my role as an information provider. He was asking me to become an advisor. That difference has stayed with me throughout my career.

Leaders Need More Than Information

Today, leaders have access to more information than ever. Dashboards. Reports. Analytics. Research. AI. Presentations. Emails. Meetings. More information is rarely the problem. The challenge is making sense of it.

That’s why one of the most valuable things you can bring to a leader isn’t another collection of facts. It’s judgment. What do you think the information means? What matters most? What are the tradeoffs? What would you do? What do you recommend? Those questions require something different from gathering information. They require thinking.

A Recommendation Is Not the Same as Being Certain

Sometimes people hesitate to make recommendations because they’re afraid of being wrong. I understand that. There can feel like a certain safety in saying: “Here are the three options.” You’ve done the work without putting your judgment on the line. But leadership rarely comes with complete information.

If we wait until we are absolutely certain before expressing a point of view, we may spend a very long time waiting. Making a recommendation doesn’t mean pretending you know everything. It means saying: Based on what I know, here is what I believe we should do, and here is why. You can acknowledge assumptions. You can identify risks. You can explain what additional information might change your recommendation. You can even say you have relatively low confidence because important information is still missing. That isn't a weakness. That’s thoughtful judgment.

The Shift From Reporting the Work to Leading the Work

I’ve seen this distinction become especially important for project managers, program managers, operations leaders, Chiefs of Staff, and other roles that sit at the intersection of people, information, and decisions. These professionals often have tremendous visibility across an organization. They see dependencies. They hear concerns from multiple stakeholders. They understand where execution is getting stuck. They recognize risks before those risks become obvious to everyone else.

Yet sometimes they stop just short of using that perspective. They report what they see instead of interpreting what it means. Consider the difference: “The project is three weeks behind.” Versus “The project is three weeks behind. The primary issue is delayed decision-making across two teams. I recommend we assign one decision owner and establish a 48-hour escalation path for unresolved issues.” The first communicates status. The second demonstrates leadership.

Recommendations Build Credibility

The more senior I became in my career, the more I realized that credibility isn’t built by always having the right answer. It’s built by demonstrating that you know how to think. Can you separate what matters from what doesn’t? Can you see beyond the immediate issue? Can you anticipate the consequences? Can you make tradeoffs? Can you connect your recommendation to the goals of the business? Can you change your position when new information tells you that you should?

That last one matters. Strong leaders have convictions. They don’t have to become prisoners of them. The goal isn’t to defend your recommendation at all costs. The goal is to contribute your best thinking to help the organization make a better decision.

Before Your Next Leadership Conversation

The next time you’re preparing for a conversation with a leader, resist the temptation to stop once you’ve assembled the information. Ask yourself five questions:

1. What is the decision that actually needs to be made? Sometimes we bury the decision underneath pages of information. Start with clarity about what you need from the conversation.

2. What do I recommend? Force yourself to choose a direction, even if the recommendation is conditional.

3. Why do I recommend it? Identify the two or three factors that matter most. A recommendation supported by twenty reasons usually isn’t stronger than one supported by three good ones.

4. What are the tradeoffs and risks? Good recommendations don’t pretend downsides don’t exist. Show that you’ve considered them.

5. What would change my recommendation? This may be one of the most powerful questions of all. It demonstrates that your thinking is strong enough to have a point of view and flexible enough to respond to new information.

Then walk into the room prepared to say: “Here’s what I recommend, and here’s why.”

Leadership Often Begins Before the Title

That early-career conversation taught me something I wouldn’t fully appreciate until years later. I didn’t need a leadership title to begin thinking like a leader. I needed someone to expect more from me than information. And eventually, I needed to expect more from myself.

That’s also something leaders should remember when developing people. If someone consistently brings you options and waits for you to choose, don’t simply make the decision every time. Ask: “What do you recommend?” Then give them room to answer. You may be doing far more than making one decision. You may be teaching someone to trust their judgment.

The GSD Perspective

At GSD Coach & Recruiting, we spend a lot of time thinking about what separates someone who can do a job from someone who can grow into greater responsibility.

Experience matters. Technical skills matter. Results matter. But so do judgment, curiosity, communication, initiative, and the ability to see beyond the task immediately in front of you. Those qualities aren’t always obvious on a résumé. But they matter enormously when you’re building a team.

Whether you’re hiring your next leader or developing someone already inside your organization, look for people who don’t simply tell you what they see. Look for people willing to tell you what they think it means and what they believe you should do next. And if you’re the person hoping to grow into greater leadership responsibility, remember: You don’t have to wait for someone to give you a leadership title. Start by bringing your thinking to the table.

Looking for People Who Can Grow With Your Organization?

GSD Coach & Recruiting helps organizations identify and recruit talent with the experience, judgment, and leadership potential to make an impact today and grow with what comes next. Talk With GSD

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