Business leadership
Clear responsibilities and a regular review of outstanding decisions help teams keep projects moving.
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Leadership in practice
A useful decision record explains what was agreed, who owns the next step, and when the result will be reviewed. When an assumption changes, the team can revisit the original reasoning and see which parts of the plan still hold.
When applying this idea, write down the assumptions behind the decision and the evidence that would cause you to change course. Keep the review date visible so the decision can be revisited as the facts change.
Delegating a decision
When assigning a decision, explain the goal, spending limit, deadline, and circumstances that call for escalation. For instance, an operations manager might be able to approve a substitute supplier within a fixed budget while bringing changes to product specifications back to the leadership team.
At the next review, ask whether the decision arrived in time and whether the person responsible had the information they needed. If an approval stalled, adjust the decision rules before adding another meeting. The goal is to make routine work easier to carry out while keeping consequential choices visible.
Clarifying who makes the call
If a delivery date slips, identify who can approve overtime, who contacts the customer, and when the issue needs to reach leadership. Write those rules down before the next delay so the team can act quickly.