Decisiveness, Writing & Leadership

I'm starting to do some layout work for the sword & sorcery novel idea I've been kicking around. So far, I'm sketching out the characters, the world and starting the plot. I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm struck by how many decisions are required when you write a novel.

The author has to bring a lot to the table, and has to decide everything. What's the weather like? What's the geography? What are the names of the main characters, the minor characters? Which ones don't get names? What weather doesn't get mentioned? How much detail do you provide, how much do you not include?

And then you get to live with the consequences of your decisions. The early decisions become building blocks for later decisions... and you have to know when to go back and revisit / undo some of those decisions.

So it struck me that writing a novel has a real parallel to leadership. I generally dislike talking about Capital-L Leadership (because so much that's written about it is junk)... but just this once, I'll say that if you want to hone your leadership skills, consider writing a novel.