Why Your Team Won’t Make Decisions

Three yellow Post-it notes with question marks on them, wondering what decision is to be made next.

One day. Three leaders. Three very different organizations. Yet each one said the exact same thing:

“My people just won’t make decisions.”

They weren’t complaining about talent. They weren’t questioning work ethic. What they were frustrated by was the passiveness. The constant deferring back to the leader, waiting for direction, and hesitation to take action, even when the path was obvious.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth:

In every case, the team wasn’t the problem.

The system was.

No one had ever explicitly told these employees:

“You have the authority to make a decision.”

“Here are the guardrails.”

“I’ll support you. Even if you get it wrong.”

So what did they do?

They waited.

They deferred.

They handed the decision right back to the leader. Not because they were incapable of acting, but because they were never told it was their role to act.

This is where well-intentioned leaders unintentionally undermine their own teams.

They assume their people know they have the power.

They assume their people understand the boundaries.

They assume their people feel safe taking ownership.

But assumptions aren’t clarity. They don’t create a culture of empowered decision-making.

If you want your people to make decisions…

Tell them. Explicitly.

Define what “good judgment” looks like.

Lay out the guardrails.

And most importantly, give them the psychological safety to get it wrong.

Otherwise, don’t be surprised when your people hesitate in silence…

because the loudest thing they’ve heard from you is “wait.”