5 Ways to Build the Decision-Making Muscle on Your Team
One of the fastest ways to stall momentum? Becoming the go-to person for every decision—whether you mean to or not.
Even high-performing leaders fall into this trap. You want to be helpful, responsive, decisive. But over time, your team learns to wait for your call… instead of building their own judgment and confidence.
If you’re looking to scale your impact (or just take a vacation without things grinding to a halt), it’s time to build decision-making muscle across your leadership team.
Here are 5 ways to get started.
1. Name the Default Decision-Makers
Clarify which decisions your direct reports should own outright—and which ones need your input. A quick framework like “Decide / Advise / Consult / Inform” can make a big difference.
2. Set “If/Then” Boundaries
Help your team build confidence by setting simple “if/then” guidelines. These can be standing rules or situational guardrails that reduce the need for back-and-forth.
For example:
- Finance: “If the cost is under $10K and it’s aligned to our Q2 goals, then go for it.”
- Marketing: “If the campaign aligns with our brand guidelines and targets one of our top three customer segments, then you’re clear to launch without additional approval.”
- Customer Success: “If a client issue can be resolved within 48 hours and costs under $500, then the team has full discretion to act without looping me in.”
“If the cost is under $10K and it’s aligned to our Q2 goals, then go for it.”
3. Normalize Imperfect Decisions
When your team is afraid of getting it wrong, they’ll default to playing it safe—which often means running everything by you. But inaction has a cost, too—one that’s often harder to spot in the moment.
So help reframe mistakes as learning opportunities, and make a point to highlight good judgment, even when the outcome isn’t ideal.
This could sound like:
“Honestly, I’d rather see you make a call and learn from it than stay stuck waiting for the perfect answer. This didn’t go the way we hoped, but now we know what doesn’t work—and that’s progress. Let’s talk through what we’d try differently next time.”
Or:
“I really appreciated how you stepped up and made the call on that. It was thoughtful, aligned with what we’re trying to do, and the reasoning made sense—even if the result wasn’t ideal. That kind of judgment is exactly what we need more of.”
4. Push Decisions to the Right Level
Ask: “Who’s closest to the issue?” Often, it’s someone not in the room. Encourage your leaders to delegate decision-making down when appropriate—along with clear context and authority. For example:
“You’re closest to this project, so I’d like you to make the call on how we handle the timeline. Here’s what matters most: we need to hit the client’s go-live date, and we can’t go over budget. As long as those guardrails are in place, you’ve got the authority to decide how to adjust the plan. Let me know what you land on, and if anything feels unclear, I’m happy to talk it through.”
5. Track and Celebrate Independent Decisions
Make independent thinking visible. Recap good calls in team meetings. Share the impact. It’s a great way to reinforce confidence and create a culture of ownership.
🧠 Chiefs of Staff—this is a prime influencing opportunity.
You’re uniquely positioned to notice when decisions are getting stuck at the top. Pay attention to patterns: Are team members regularly deferring to the leader for things they could own? Are decisions stalling because no one feels empowered?
Use your role to gently spotlight these moments. In your 1:1 meetings with the exec, you might say:
“I noticed a few decisions last week that bounced back up to you—might be a chance to coach the team on when they can just move forward.”
You can also shape meeting agendas to reinforce ownership. Add space for leaders to share recent decisions they made independently and reflect on what worked. Over time, this not only builds confidence—it builds a culture where distributed decision-making is the norm, not the exception.
Is Your Org Set Up for Scalable Decision-Making?
Take 7 minutes to find out with the Chief of Staff Readiness Scorecard—a free assessment designed to help you spot the gaps in your team’s strategic operating system.
