The Consensus Trap: What High-Performing Leaders Do Differently

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We talk a lot about leadership in terms of vision, strategy, and influence. But one of the most overlooked, high-impact leadership decisions you make every day is this:

How quickly do you decide? And… who are you waiting on to do it?

Speed matters A LOT in the world of business.

In his first all-hands meeting as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy made it clear:

“Speed matters in business, a lot.” He wasn’t talking about moving recklessly. He was talking about removing drag from decisions, empowering teams, and avoiding the common trap that stalls even the best leaders: consensus.

As women leaders, we’re taught to be inclusive, collaborative, and ultra diplomatic. And while those qualities are strengths, they can backfire when we over-index on consensus.

Consensus feels safe, but it’s not always the best way forward.

Here’s what happens when consensus becomes the default leadership style:
• It drains your team. Every voice matters, but not every decision needs a committee. Waiting for 100% agreement is often not what your team needs.
• Bold ideas get watered down. Endless meetings. 54 emails about the same issue. Everyone weighs in, but no one makes the call. Your team gets stuck and frustrated.
• No one owns the outcome. If everyone decides, no one owns the outcome. You lose clarity on who’s responsible, and ultimately results suffer.
• Alignment ≠ Agreement. You don’t need everyone to agree. You need people to feel heard, consider different perspectives, and still be ready to move forward together despite disagreements.

The most effective leaders lead with speed, clarity, and courage.

Here’s how:

Decide Based on Decision Type – Use Jeff Bezos’ Type 1 vs. Type 2 framework

Type 1 decisions: High-stakes, irreversible. Require thoughtful, deliberate input (e.g., restructuring your team, new pricing strategy etc).

Type 2 decisions: Low-stakes, reversible. Can be made quickly with limited information and adjusted later (e.g., testing a new landing page… or trying a new automation tool).

Trust Over Control

Great leaders don’t make every call, they build a culture of decision-making. Empower your team to act on what they know. Define “decision rights ” and clearly define owns which decision. A RACI is a great way to get this done. 🙂 

Your Pace Sets the Tone, for Urgency, Accountability, and ACTION

Respond quickly, remove blockers, and decide promptly. If done is better than perfect, then model that through your actions.  No one wants to work on 12 versions of the same presentation. It is not worth it. Move on.

Kill the Bottlenecks

Often, the bottleneck is… you. Look at which decisions keep landing on your desk. If it’s not a Senior Leader/CEO-level decision, delegate it. Build rules, systems, and escalation paths so your team can run without your approval on everything.

Are you stuck in decision loops? Waiting for alignment that never comes?
Then it may be time to make a new kind of decision - a decision to move with speed.

Because speed doesn’t mean being reckless.
It means you trust yourself as a leader.
It means your team trusts you to decide and feels empowered to do the same.
And it means you’re leading with confidence, not waiting for consensus.

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“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”

Peter F Drucker