Why Avoiding Tough Decisions Can Be Risky for Managers

One of the key responsibilities of being a manager is making difficult decisions and providing clear direction, even when it’s uncomfortable. While it might seem easier to avoid giving direct answers in tricky situations, this approach can actually create more problems for both the team and the business. In fact, avoiding difficult decisions can lead to confusion, lower morale, and even bigger issues down the road. Here are a few reasons why not stepping up when it counts can be a dangerous tactic for any manager.

1. Undermining Trust Within the Team

Consider a situation where an employee is consistently underperforming, and the manager hesitates to address it directly. Instead of having an honest conversation about performance, the manager offers vague feedback like, “Just keep doing your best,” hoping things will improve on their own. Over time, the rest of the team notices the lack of action and feels frustrated. Trust in the manager erodes as employees perceive that accountability isn’t enforced and expectations aren’t clear. Eventually, high-performing employees may become disengaged, feeling their efforts go unnoticed while underperformance is tolerated.

2. Delays in Addressing Key Business Issues

Another example is when a manager hesitates to make a decision on a failing project. Imagine a situation where a project is consistently over budget and behind schedule, but the manager avoids the tough decision of cutting the losses, hoping things will turn around. The delay results in more wasted resources, and when the project is finally cancelled months later, it’s too late to salvage opportunities that could have been pursued if the decision had been made sooner. Hesitation costs businesses time, money, and opportunities, all of which could have been preserved with quicker, more decisive action.

3. Creating Unnecessary Uncertainty

When managers avoid giving clear answers, it often creates confusion within the team. For instance, during a company restructure, leadership may hesitate to communicate clearly about what changes are coming, offering only vague reassurances like, “We’re still figuring things out.” In the absence of information, employees start to speculate and worry. Rumours spread, productivity drops, and anxiety rises as people wonder about the security of their jobs. In situations like these, talented employees may leave the organisation, not because they aren’t valued, but because they can’t cope with the uncertainty.

4. Hindering Employee Growth and Development

Consider the case of an employee aspiring for a promotion but lacking some key skills. If a manager is uncomfortable delivering constructive feedback and instead gives non-specific praise like, “You’re doing great, let’s revisit this in the future,” the employee leaves the meeting without knowing what they need to improve. This lack of clear guidance can stifle their development, preventing them from taking actionable steps to grow. Avoiding direct feedback limits their potential and can hold back the overall performance of the team.

5. Allowing Small Problems to Grow

Unaddressed small issues tend to grow into larger problems. Take a scenario where a team member is consistently late to meetings. If the manager doesn’t address this behaviour early on, others may follow suit, thinking it’s acceptable. What began as one person’s habit becomes a cultural issue across the team, where being late is normalised. By not confronting the problem early, the manager ends up with a widespread issue that becomes much harder to correct. Tackling small problems as they arise is far easier than trying to reverse a negative team culture once it takes root.

Avoiding difficult decisions or not giving direct answers might feel easier in the short term, but it often leads to greater issues in the long run. Whether it’s a loss of trust, wasted resources, or disengaged employees, the consequences of inaction can significantly impact a team’s performance and the business’s success. Managers who embrace difficult conversations and make decisive calls foster trust, clarity, and accountability—qualities that are essential for long-term success.