Ways of working · Hypothetical example

When Every Decision Waits for the Owner, Where Should You Start?

When the team checks with the owner before every handoff, the issue may be missing information, unclear roles or decision authority—not simply slow replies.

Start with one recurring type of work instead of telling the team to ‘make more decisions’ before understanding what information and authority each person has.

A hypothetical example: approving a quotation

Imagine a salesperson sends every quotation to the owner for approval. Trace one recent quotation from understanding the customer’s request through costing, discount review and sending it. Do not assume the owner is the bottleneck. Find the exact step where it stopped and why.

1. Map the actual steps, who does each one and where the work goes next.
2. At the waiting point, note who has the missing information, such as costs, terms or customer history.
3. Name who can decide in routine cases and which exceptions need the owner.
4. Set the minimum information or boundary for independent decisions, such as an agreed discount threshold.
5. Try the change on one quotation type for a week. Count how often the team still asks and why.

Look at the evidence before changing the process

If work waits because costs are unavailable, improve access to information. If people do not know who approves, assign decision ownership. If only exceptions reach the owner, clarify the exception criteria.

One week will not prove everything, but it can show whether the next adjustment belongs in the information, the workflow or the decision boundary.