Hi Reader,

Nilay Patel asks every CEO on Decoder the same question: how do you make decisions?

The AWS CEO distinguishes between one-way doors - irreversible, needs scrutiny and two-way doors, made fast and close to the work. One of many useful frameworks.

Now ask your leadership team the same question.

In ten years of working with leadership teams, I've yet to find one where everyone in the team gives the same answer. And rarely does anyone realise they've been operating on different assumptions the whole time.

The most common model I see is the benevolent dictator.

The team discusses. If it goes nowhere, the CEO decides. Everyone knows this is how it works, even if it's never been said out loud.

Half the team thinks they're influencing decisions. The other half has already clocked that the CEO decides anyway. And the CEO thinks they're running a collaborative process.

I don't have a strong view on which model is best - different contexts call for different approaches.

But I would fight for this: your team should know which model you're running.

If you want to go deeper on decision-making frameworks, Matt Mower and I unpacked this properly on the podcast. Worth an hour of your time. →​

And if what I've described sounds familiar, this is the work I do with leadership teams. →​

Does yours know which model you're running?

Your wing woman,

Catherine