From Personal to Team Decision-Making
Don't be the team's bottleneck. Teach others to make good decisions.
Experience Level: Early Management
Article 5 of 6 in the Decision-Making Excellence Learning Path
Reading time: 7 minutes
It was a Tuesday afternoon when I realized I’d become my operation’s biggest bottleneck.
Walking back from a leadership meeting, I saw three situations unfolding on the floor. A team lead stood next to equipment, radio in hand, waiting to reach me about a staffing decision. At the pack stations, a supervisor held a quality exception form, unsure whether to proceed. Near shipping, an experienced associate watched a late truck arrive, calculating whether we should hold it for a priority order.
Three capable people. Three decisions they had the knowledge to make. All three waiting for me.
I had mastered the decision-making frameworks from Parts 1 and 2 of this series. I could categorize Type 1 versus Type 2 decisions instantly. The 2-Minute Decision Matrix was second nature. I was proud of how decisively I could handle operational challenges.
But I’d created a bigger problem: my capability had become my team’s limitation.
When Your Strength Becomes Your Constraint
When you become a skilled decision-maker, your team starts relying on your judgment for everything. They stop wrestling with decisions themselves because bringing them to you feels easier and safer. You become “The Decider”—the person who needs to weigh in on every choice that matters.
At first, this feels validating. You’re the go-to person. Your boss trusts your calls. Your team depends on you. You’re making good decisions quickly and consistently, and everyone knows it.
Then you notice the cracks. Your operation slows down whenever you’re in meetings because decisions stack up waiting for you. Team members escalate choices they could handle themselves, creating delays that ripple through the shift. When you take a few days off, your stand-in gets buried in questions you would have handled instinctively. And you’re exhausted—trying to be everywhere, field every question, make every call.
During that Tuesday afternoon walk, seeing those three capable people wait for me, I understood the problem: an operation can’t scale when one person is the single point of decision-making failure. The skill that had made me effective as an individual leader was now constraining what my team could accomplish.
Why You Had to Master It First
If you’re reading this feeling similar frustration, you’ve probably done the work. You’ve practiced the frameworks from Parts 1 and 2. You understand Type 1 versus Type 2 decisions. You’ve built confidence making operational calls quickly. You can work through high-impact decisions systematically.
That progression wasn’t arbitrary—you had to master these frameworks yourself before you could transfer them to others. How could you teach someone to use the 2-Minute Decision Matrix if you’d never used it under pressure? How could you coach someone through a high-impact decision using SCALA if you hadn’t worked through the framework on real consequences?
Some managers try to skip this step. They read about empowerment and tell their teams, “Just make decisions, I trust you.” When that (predictably) fails—when decisions are inconsistent, when people freeze with uncertainty, when mistakes undermine confidence—they conclude their team isn’t ready for autonomy.
But the problem isn’t team readiness. It’s the absence of systematic transfer. You can’t delegate capability you haven’t developed in yourself. Personal mastery is the prerequisite, but it’s not the destination.
How do you bridge from individual capability to organizational strength?
The Mindset Shift
The transition requires rethinking what makes you valuable as a leader.
I used to believe my value came from making good decisions quickly and reliably. When my team brought me problems, I provided solutions. That’s what leaders do, right? We have the experience and judgment to make the right calls.
But that mindset creates dependency. Your team learns to bring you problems instead of solving them. They wait for your judgment instead of developing their own. You become the constraint on how fast your operation can move and how much it can handle.
The shift I needed to make—and the shift you probably need to make if you’re feeling this frustration—is from “I am the decision-maker” to “I build decision-makers.” Your value isn’t just in the decisions you make. It’s in the decision-making capability you develop in others.
When a team lead used to ask me, “Should I move Sarah from pack to pick?” I’d say, “Yes, move her now.” Quick, efficient, decisive. Problem solved.
Now I ask, “Walk me through your thinking. What factors are you considering?” I’m not making the decision—I’m coaching their decision-making process. They’re learning to apply the frameworks I’ve mastered instead of just receiving my conclusions.
When a supervisor brings me a quality exception asking what to do, I don’t immediately tell them to hold the shipment or release it. I ask, “Is this Type 1 or Type 2? If you hold it, what’s the impact? If you release it, what’s the risk?” They’re practicing the same systematic thinking I use, developing the capability to make these calls independently.
This doesn’t mean I never give direct answers. Sometimes speed matters and I just need to make the call. But the default shifts from providing solutions to developing decision-makers.
The shift is harder than it sounds. There’s ego wrapped up in being “The Decider.” There’s comfort in control. There’s concern that others won’t make decisions as well as you do—and they won’t at first. That’s the point of transfer and practice.
When you make this shift, decisions start happening at the point of impact instead of waiting to flow through you. Your team develops confidence and capability. Your operation becomes more resilient because good decision-making doesn’t depend on your presence. And you create the space to focus on decisions that actually require your unique experience and authority.
How Capability Transfers
The transfer doesn’t happen through a single conversation or delegation. It happens in stages, and the progression matters.
First, they watch you apply frameworks to real situations. When I’m working through a decision, I often narrate my thinking process out loud. “This is a Type 2 decision because we can easily reverse it if it doesn’t work. I’m using the 2-Minute Decision Matrix—it’s low impact and highly reversible, which means I can decide immediately without extended consultation.”
Next, they should practice with your guidance. When they bring you a decision, ask questions that reveal gaps in their process. “Have you categorized this as Type 1 or Type 2? What makes you say that? If this goes wrong, what’s the worst outcome?” They work through the same systematic thinking you use, but with a safety net.
Eventually, they start to make decisions independently within clear boundaries. You create systems that support this—clear authority limits, access to information, simple frameworks they can reference. When you review outcomes, focus on improving the process, not judging the person.
Different people and different decision types move through these stages at different speeds. Your most experienced team lead might be making staffing decisions independently while still needing coaching on process modifications. That’s normal. You match your approach to their readiness for each specific decision type.
What Comes Next
You’ve mastered making decisions. Part 3 will show you how to build decision-making systems.
Before you move to Part 3, ask yourself: Are you consistently applying the Type 1/Type 2 framework without conscious effort? Do you use decision frameworks daily in your own work? Can you articulate why you chose specific approaches? Does your team have a couple of people who demonstrate solid operational judgment and have seen these frameworks work?
If you’re nodding yes, you’re ready for Part 3’s systematic approach. If you’re hesitating, practice Parts 1 and 2 more first.
From Theory to Action
1. Identify one decision type that 2-3 team members could handle with the right framework. Pick something meaningful but not critical—staffing adjustments, workflow modifications, routine quality decisions.
2. Coach instead of deciding. When someone asks you to make that decision, coach them through your process instead of giving the answer. Ask: “What factors are you considering? Is this Type 1 or Type 2?”
3. Practice new language: Replace “Here’s what to do” with “Walk me through your thinking.” You’re coaching the process, not evaluating the conclusion.
4. After 3-4 successful coaching sessions, read Part 3. You’re ready when team members apply frameworks without prompting, explain reasoning using concepts you’ve taught, and make good calls even if they’re not exactly what you would have done.
The transition from personal mastery to organizational capability starts with one decision type, one team member, one coaching conversation.
This is article 5 of 6 in the Decision-Making Excellence Learning Path.
Previous:
Next:
Ready to continue your leadership development journey? Join other operational leaders who receive Leadership Lessons each week, featuring actionable insights like these.