We’ve all heard it, and many of us have said it.
A decision comes up. It sits right in front of someone. It falls within their role and their authority. And the response comes almost automatically.
“Let me check with my boss.”
Sometimes that’s wise. Alignment matters. Context matters.
That’s not the situation we’re thinking about here.
We’re thinking about the reflex. The lazy habit. The moment a leader has the ball and immediately hands it back up the chain.
“I’ll get back to you.”
“Let me confirm before we move…”
Ownership just left the room.
One instance feels harmless. But a regular occurrence starts to define the culture.
Decisions begin to climb instead of moving forward. Time stretches. Energy fades. Momentum slips away, one small deferral at a time.
Every time a leader defers a decision that belongs to them, the team hears something unspoken.
“I have the title. But I’m still waiting for permission to lead.”
There are reasons this shows up. A leader may have learned that their decisions will be second-guessed. A leader may want to avoid risk. In some cases, the habit settles in because it feels efficient in the moment.
It never is.
Leadership is not a forwarding function. Leadership is a decision function. When decisions don’t happen where they should, everything slows down.
Consider a different kind of decision environment.
Naval destroyers move through the Pacific at night. Visibility is limited. The stakes are high. Decisions carry immediate consequences.
Arleigh Burke commanded Destroyer Squadron 23 during World War II. He pushed his ships to full speed when it mattered, earning the nickname “31-knot Burke.”
He once said, “The difference between a good officer and a great officer is ten seconds.”
Ten seconds.
In that environment, ten seconds could determine who struck first and who absorbed the hit. There was no version of that moment where a commander paused to seek permission for a decision that was already theirs to make.
Burke’s point wasn’t about speed alone. It hinged on readiness.
A ten-second decision is formed long before the moment arrives. It’s shaped through preparation, and thinking clearly about what matters and what doesn’t. When the moment comes, the leader recognizes it and moves.
Most of us aren’t making decisions in the middle of a night battle at sea. We’re making decisions in conference rooms, over email, in conversations with our teams, and in small moments where direction is needed.
A customer is waiting. A team needs clarity. Our decision will either create movement or stall it.
In those moments, the difference comes down to a single response.
“Let me check.”
Or
“Here’s what we’re going to do.”
The gap between these two responses is only ten seconds. But what fills that gap, or fails to, defines the kind of leader you are.
The leaders who move in those moments aren’t guessing. They’re drawing on work they’ve already done. They’ve thought through the tradeoffs. Formed principles that guide their decisions. They understand the scope of their responsibility. They trust their preparation and their judgment.
Because of that, they don’t need to look upward for every answer. They don’t need to defer decisions that belong within their role.
They lead.
Create unnecessary delays, and uncertainty spreads. Energy drains. People begin to fill the gaps with their own assumptions.
A leader who steps forward brings clarity into the room.
The next time that familiar reflex shows up, pause for a moment and ask a better question.
Is this mine to decide?
If it is, then decide. Step forward. Move.
The distance between good and great leadership rarely shows up in dramatic events. It shows up in small decisions, repeated over time, where someone chooses to act, or chooses to wait.
Burke’s destroyers didn’t win the night by waiting for permission. They won it by being ready when the moment came.
That moment is already yours.
Ten seconds. Make them count.
Photo by Hayrunnisa Görgülü on Unsplash
Grandpa Bob Encouraging Leadership 
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