The Problem with Management by Committee

I see a trend in business right now that looks harmless on the surface, but in practice, it’s slowing organisations down. I call it management by committee—and it’s not what you might expect. It's actually a form of sabotage - and we're often doing this to ourselves.

Most people think of committees as senior groups that approve decisions or sign off ideas. But what I’m seeing more often is managers allowing themselves to be steered almost entirely by their teams.

Consulting people, drawing on their expertise, and shaping a future together are all good management practices. But there are certain decisions that managers must own. When managers avoid ownership, the results can be damaging.

When Consensus Becomes slow and painful

  • Case 1: A manager I worked with refused to make any decision without full team agreement, from everyone. Every. One. The result? Very few decisions were made at all—and the ones that did get through were so watered down they created tomorrow’s problems.
  • Case 2: Another manager insisted on speaking individually with every team member before acting. Weeks passed in endless one-to-one discussions. Decisions stalled, momentum died, and frustration soared. Suffice to say, he was removed from his role 4 months later for lack of progress.
  • Case 3: A leadership team I was working with tried to agree on a single cloud platform. In the room, everyone nodded along and agreed to Amazon AWS. Outside the room, each department carried on with their own preferred choice. Meetings went in circles, no decision stuck, and the organisation suffered serious technical and financial consequences. The Leader of the team refused to pull rank, make the decision and stop all other activity.

This pursuit of 100% agreement sounds noble—but it kills momentum, waters down decisions, and prevents progress.

The Power of Disagree and Commit

In my career, I can’t recall a single strategic decision that everyone fully agreed with. And that’s fine. I've disagreed with plenty of decisions others have made. A healthier approach is to adopt the behaviour of disagree and commit.

  • People can voice concerns and share perspectives carefully and with respect and dignity - disagree.
  • Their input is acknowledged and considered.
  • But once a decision is made, everyone commits—even if it wasn’t their preferred path.

This creates alignment without paralysis.

The Manager’s Responsibility

Some decisions simply belong to management:

  • Implementing a new way of working.
  • Making financial decisions.
  • Addressing underperformance.
  • Rapidly fixing failing services.
  • Strategic direction.

Managers are paid to make these calls. Managers don’t work for their people—they work for the organisation. Our role is to solve business problems with people, not to secure unanimous approval on every action.

And let’s be honest: not every opinion carries equal weight. Some people push back just for the thrill of conflict - the pugilists. Others lack the context, experience, or commercial awareness to make sound revenue-impacting decisions.

My Decision-Making Process

Here’s the framework I recommend to avoid “management by committee” while still gathering value from the team:

  1. Clearly identify the problem. If you don't know what problem you're trying to solve, you're already off to a bad start.
  2. Consult trusted experts in your team and business for their input.
  3. Gather evidence and data.
  4. Create a couple of viable creative options.
  5. Share carefully for feedback.
  6. Weave in valid input.
  7. Finalise a strategy or decision.
  8. Make the decision. And remember, decisions are not choices.
  9. Encourage disagree and commit.
  10. Implement with focus, energy and passion.

It’s rare that everyone is fully on board. But good managers don’t chase 100% agreement. They chase business results - made better by bringing in insights from those they are working with.

The Bottom Line

  • The manager who never consults the team should worry.
  • The manager who insists on 100% consensus will rarely move forward.
  • The best managers listen, take input seriously, and then make a clear, informed decision—even if not everyone agrees.

Management is hard. People will disagree with you. But if you try to please everyone, you’ll likely please no one—and the business will suffer.

Remember: We’re employed to deliver results, not to get 100% consensus. Disagree and commit—it’s a behaviour worth working on.

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