The Decision Leader’s Trap:
Six Decision-Making Blunders and the Art of Dodging Them
In the grand theatre of business, leaders are the stars. They stride into boardrooms, charts and confidence in hand, expected to have all the answers. Yet, behind the scenes, the script often goes wrong. Not from a lack of IQ or passion, but because even the sharpest minds have a habit of walking into the same, beautifully carpeted traps. It’s like watching a brilliant actor repeatedly forgetting there’s a door on the set and trying to exit through the painted-on window. We are all human after all.
These pitfalls are not just common; they are predictable, and what is predictable can be prevented. As proof of this I have collected the feedback of leaders clients friend and people who have achieved far greater things than me and I am sharing them with you. I also cross checked these summaries with reputable sources (some of which I have linked at the end of the article) and guess what?
There was a clear repeating trend.
After all, whatever made you tired can be cured by a good sleep.
Each concept below is shrunk to a shot of kiwi & ginger juice (for a slower read perhaps a cup of tea & biscuits). Get in touch if you need to delve deeper.
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The 6 topics:
1. The Perilous Pursuit of Perfect Decision Making (or, How to Achieve Nothing Beautifully)
2. The Committee of Echoes (or, Why Everyone Agreeing is Terrifying)
3. Throwing Good Money Out Of Guilt (The Sunk Cost Saga)
4. The Complication Hobby (or, How to Build a Hedge Maze)
5. Leading from the Ivory Tower (It’s Lonely and You Can’t See Anything)
6. The Emotional Hijacking (When your inner strings break and you crash the violin on someone’s head)
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1. The Perilous Pursuit of Perfect Decision Making (or, How to Achieve Nothing Beautifully)
Many leaders operate under the delusion that a decision must be a perfectly formed, flawless diamond, unearthed only after exhaustive digging. This isn’t diligence; it’s analysis paralysis in its most elegant form. You spend so long polishing the business plan that the market has moved on, and someone else is now serving drinks from your intended beach bar.
The Consequence: this quest for the immaculate conception of an idea means you miss the party altogether. Opportunities are fleeting, and while you’re running a third round of focus groups, your competitor is on their third round of funding. The team becomes demoralised, momentum stalls, and the entire organisation learns that it’s safer to do nothing than to do something that might be 95% right. It’s corporate constipation, and it’s utterly preventable.
The Clever Fix: Embrace the “good enough.” In a fast-moving world, a decent decision made today is almost always better than a perfect decision made next month not to say in 2 years. Set a deadline. Ask “What is the minimum information I need to make a smart choice?” and then pull the trigger. You can always adjust your aim later. Think of it as a pirate ship setting a course for treasure; you know the general direction, and you’ll correct for wind and tides along the way. The goal is to find the gold, not to draw the perfect map before leaving port. This doesn’t mean releasing a product too early and destroying your company image forever, it means finding the balance between idyllic perfection and a reality check.
As a Decision Leader you are the balance between the creators who will never be fully satisfied, the market which moves faster than a tornado and the team who needs emotional drive to perform. Create the balance and cut the edges when it’s necessary in order to reach the shore before the supplies run out and mutiny breaks out. Some will complain. Others may judge. But you’re strong enough to keep your eyes on the target, knowing that short-sighted players will judge today but will thank you later when the sales come through and a performance bonus follows.
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2. The Committee of Echoes (or, Why Everyone Agreeing is Terrifying)
It feels wonderfully warm and cosy when everyone in a meeting nods along with your idea. But beware! This comfortable silence often hides a monster called groupthink. It’s what happens when a team values harmony over a good, rousing argument. Nobody wants to be the one to rock the boat (could be because you get mad and loud so self reflect on your attitude too) so bad ideas sail through unchallenged, gathering speed until they smash into the icy iceberg of reality (think the end scene of Titanic and what happens to Jack. You don’t want to be Jack. Your company doesn’t want to end in deep cold waters).
Constant “yes meetings” are equal to your management team not functioning as a management team.
How many times have you had a confrontation with your partner where you listed things to work on together and got 100% happy silent nods in return?
Exactly. Never.
The Consequence: You end up with a weak, watered-down decision that everyone secretly dislikes but no one will speak against. It’s the culinary equivalent of a plain rice cake—inoffensive, but utterly unsatisfying. As Professor Len Schlesinger of Harvard Business School notes, “defaulting to consensus can lead to a lower evaluation of the issues and less creative problem-solving. The result is often a mediocre outcome that nobody owns and everyone can conveniently blame on “the group.” In other words a pro sounding version of my poor rice cake quote (don’t laugh).
The Clever Fix: Become the champion of constructive disagreement. Actively ask your team, “What are three things that could go wrong with this plan?” Appoint a formal “devil’s advocate” for every major meeting—their job is to poke holes and challenge the consensus. It might feel uncomfortable at first, like adding chilli to your tea, but it’s far better to have a heated debate in the boardroom than a disastrous failure in the real world. Foster psychological safety, so people feel free to express their point of view without fear of retribution. If you get emotionally heated up and over step, learn to say sorry afterwards and remind everyone that caring for the shared goal can create arguments but eventually leads to success. Confrontation is good if it is constructive. People should not take things personally and you should never act on the basis of “your favourite team members”.
Ensure everybody feels comfortable with voicing their opinion, regardless of how much you might not like it.
If you can’t stand this approach then make all the final decisions yourself but then own up to them regardless of the outcome. It’s either teamwork or “youwork”.
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3. Throwing Good Money Out Of Guilt (The Sunk Cost Saga)
This is a classic and deeply human mistake. Imagine you’ve spent a small fortune on a new software system that is clearly not working. The logical thing is to cut your losses and try something new. But the emotional pitfall is to think, “But I’ve already invested so much! I can’t give up now!” This is the sunk cost fallacy. It’s like continuing to eat a terrible, expensive meal at a restaurant just because you’ve paid for it, even though it’s making you miserable and you’ve just found a bit of gristle. It’s a stupid guilt trip. We have all done it at least once, and we cringe at the mere memory of it.
The Consequence: You end up pouring more resources—money, time, and emotional energy—into a black hole of failure. This drains the organisation, demoralises your top performers who can see the mess, and prevents you from pivoting to more promising strategies. It’s the corporate equivalent of staying in a terrible relationship because you’ve already been on seven holidays together (could write a book about how many times I’ve heard this one!).
The Clever Fix: Pretend you’re starting from scratch with a clean slate. Ask yourself and your team one brutal question: “If we weren’t already invested in this project, would we start it today?” If the answer is a resounding “no,” then it’s time to have a dignified funeral for the idea. The money and time you’ve already spent are gone. Don’t let them trick you into wasting even more. Be brave, call it a learning experience, and move on to something that actually has a future.
Of course it’s assumed you have budget to start over and time to do that too. If you don’t then spend time with your team brainstorming on what you can do with what you have today. Sometimes the answer is simpler than you think.
The US spent millions working on a pen that would work in space. The Russians used a pencil (mic drop).
Remember, nobody will remember you falling, if you find the way to get back up and win the race.
Tough cookie alternative: keep going until the end, but ensure everybody is aware of the potential consequences.
Sometimes starting from scratch simply isn’t an option. Fine, but make sure you’re all in for the rough ride and keep up the morale til the very end.
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4. The Complication Hobby (or, How to Build a Hedge Maze)
There’s a strange belief in business that if something is simple, it can’t be sophisticated. So, leaders often take a straightforward process—like approving a new marketing image—and add more steps, more approvals, and more reports. Before you know it, a simple task requires a ten-form checklist, the signature of three directors and a trained badger. This bureaucracy doesn’t just slow things down, it actively strangles speed and creativity, leaving your team frustrated, exhausted, and dreaming of a career in beekeeping.
Think about pop music.
Some of the most popular songs are written with 4-5 chords. Their beauty is in the simplicity. Catchy, easy to sing along and remember. Instant money makers.
If there was a decision-making chain of 40 people for each step of that song creation, what do you think would happen?
Exactly.
The Consequence: Your company becomes slow, clumsy, and deeply un-fun. Innovation is suffocated under a duvet of paperwork. Employees spend more time navigating internal compliance than serving customers. The entire enterprise grinds to a halt, not because of external competition, but because of a self-inflicted wound of complexity.
The Clever Fix: Be a ruthless simplifier and show people that work can be fun. Your job is to be the gardener who prunes the dead wood. Ask the obvious question: “What is the simplest way we could do this?” Challenge every step and inspire people to find the best solutions. If a report isn’t read, stop producing it. If an approval is unnecessary, remove it. Your goal is to build a garden path, not a hedge maze. Make it easy for your team to get things done, and watch in amazement as they actually start to do so.
Inspiration needs space. You can’t move in a room full of furniture. Empty the room, and get rid of the superfluous. Our minds work in the same way. Make space for progress to present itself.
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5. Leading from the Ivory Tower (It’s Lonely and You Can’t See Anything)
It’s dangerously easy for leaders to get stuck in the executive suite, surrounded by the same senior people and the same ideas. This creates a “boardroom bubble,” completely cut off from what’s actually happening in the business. Those who know the most about customer complaints, production line hiccups, or what broke the printer are the ones doing the job every day. If you don’t talk to them, you’re making decisions based on a fantasy version of your company.
The Consequence: You make grand pronouncements that are utterly out of touch with reality. You launch products nobody wants, implement systems that don’t work, and miss the golden opportunities that are staring your frontline staff in the face. It’s like trying to direct a play from the car park—you might have the general idea, but you have no clue what’s actually happening on stage.
Sounds like the politician you voted for and who kept none of the promises?
Yup. Same problem. Decision makers being too far from the daily grind, the real issues and not being surrounded by the people who suffer the consequences of their macro choices. You cannot understand a problem if you haven’t experienced it first hand.
The Clever Fix: Get out of your office, and your comfort zone. Regularly.
Walk the floor. Have a casual chat with people in different departments. Ask them simple but powerful questions like:
1. “What’s one thing that makes your job harder?”
2. “What’s the first thing you’d change here as the owner?”
3. “Name 3 things you enjoy about this place”
Then – and this is the crucial part – shut up and listen to their answers! They hold the secrets to your company’s real challenges and opportunities.
As strategic planning experts suggest, include the people closest to the customers in your conversations; they have the most information. Encourage anonymous feedback and don’t get pissy if people complain about management.. encourage more feedback. Ask everyone their opinion on how to improve things, you’ll be amazed at how many cool ideas people come up with. Have a “best solution of the year” award and give a nice prize. Show people how their input can benefit the entire group. If staff sees their ideas being implemented they will feel like the company listens, it cares and it rewards. A bottle of bubbly and a real nice dinner once a year will be remembered far more than an extra €100 in the pay check. Turn your company into a beehive (harmonious collaboration and hard work for the greater good leads to improved quality for all).
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6. The Emotional Hijacking (When your inner strings break and you crash the violin on someone’s head)
Leaders are human, not Vulcans. It’s normal to feel angry, frustrated, or defensive. The blunder is not the feeling itself, but letting that feeling make the decision for you. When you react in the heat of the moment – after a frustrating call, a missed target, or a critical email – you often say or do things you later regret. It’s like trying to send an important email while your blood boils out of your skin; it’s a recipe for disaster. If this is happening more and more often it’s a trigger, a red warning light. And you need to listen.
The Consequence: Armageddon. Burnt toast. People jumping off the ship mid storm.
You damage relationships, create a culture of fear, and make impulsive, short-sighted decisions that can undo years of careful work. Your team learns to fear your moods rather than respect your judgment. Cognitive biases like overconfidence, which is repeatedly identified as a major influence on professional decision-making, can be amplified by emotional reactions.
The Clever Fix: ideally? Really? Have a looooong holiday! You’re working your way to a burnout.
The break is just to catch a breath and cleanse your soul. You won’t solve the problem but you’ll regain the energy and a clear head to tackle things once you’re back.
My father (a doctor) once told me “I need to look after myself first, not out of selfishness but out of care for my patients. If I fall ill I’m no use to anybody”.
Same rule applies across any leading role.
To perform well you need to be well in the first place.
If you fail and people depend on you then you fail twice.
Waiting until you’ve sucked every bit of energy out your existence is not clever.
We live in an era where a manager who sleeps on the office floor to launch the product on time is a hero, but then who will come to his/her funeral?
Stop now before something unpleasant stops you.
And while you wait for your well deserved holiday…
Create a pause button for yourself. When you feel a strong negative emotion bubbling up, don’t act immediately. If you can, take a five-minute walk, get a glass of water, or simply pause and repeat in your head “I am calm as the water, steady as a tree, light as the sun”. Now stop laughing and try it. it works!).
This tiny gap between the trigger and your response gives your rational brain a chance to catch up with your emotional state. Ask yourself, “What is the smart, strategic move here?”. If you have someone who inspires your work then ask yourself “What would he/she say right now?”
This “impersonation” will help you detach yourself from the emotional burden and think straight.
Learn to respond, not merely react.
Then take a holiday anyway and thank me later.
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Final thoughts:
Navigating the leadership journey is about being aware of the common potholes. By recognising these six traps, you can spend less time digging yourself out of problems and more time building something remarkable. This is a summary but the essence is there.
Read it again and let it sink in deep.
Now, go forth, lead ahead and enjoy yourself!
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Links for reference and further reading:
1. The Impact of Cognitive Biases on Professionals’ Decision-Making:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8763848/
2. Decision-Making in Management:
(Harvard Business School) https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/decision-making-in-management
3. The Most Common Strategy Mistakes:
(Based on Michael Porter’s work) https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/the-most-common-strategy-mistakes
4. Small Business Strategic Planning: https://www.vistage.com/research-center/business-leadership/strategic-planning/strategic-planning-12-common-mistakes-part-1-of-2/
5. The Hidden Traps in Decision Making: (Harvard Business Review) https://hbr.org/1998/09/the-hidden-traps-in-decision-making-2