Usually because the business has not yet made clear what your team is allowed to decide, on what basis, and what happens if they get it wrong. When those three things are unspoken, checking with you is the safe option, so they check.
This is rarely a problem with your people. It is a clarity problem, and clarity is something you can build.
Key takeaways
- A team that will not decide is usually missing the frame, not the ability.
- When the basis for decisions lives in your head, checking with you is the safe choice.
- Name what they own, the basis to decide on, and what happens when it goes wrong.
- The hardest part is resisting the urge to re-decide it for them.
What is actually happening
Every decision your team brings you is one where the boundary, the basis or the safety net is unclear. So they do the sensible thing and ask. Each answer you give trains them to ask again, and the loop tightens until nothing moves without you.
It is rarely a people problem
The same people who escalate everything to you will decide confidently the moment the frame is set. Watch what happens when you say plainly, this is yours to call, here is how to weigh it, and here is what we do if it goes wrong. The capability was there. The clarity was not.
What helps
Name the decisions each person owns. Give them the basis to decide on, the few things that matter most in that call. Agree in advance what happens when a decision goes wrong, so a mistake is a lesson rather than a reason to stop deciding. Then hold the line and let them decide, even when you would have chosen differently.
When it is not that
Sometimes it is the wrong person in the seat, or a trust that has been knocked and needs a direct conversation. If the frame is clear and they still will not move, that is a different problem, and worth naming honestly.
Common questions
Should I just hire more senior people? Seniority helps, but a senior hire in an unclear frame still escalates. Build the clarity first, or you will pay more for the same loop.
How do I stop them escalating without seeming to abandon them? Stay available for the thinking, not the deciding. Ask how they would call it and why, then back their call. Support the judgement, do not replace it.
If it all runs through you, something needs to change
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