On management: Procrastination in teams

Procrastination isn't just an individual problem. Teams procrastinate too. It's just harder to spot.

Team procrastination is when they delay decisions, intentionally or not. It feels productive because we label it differently: "building consensus," "we're aligning," "gathering more data," "running it by a few more people."

Why do teams do this? Usually because no one wants to own the outcome. Or the person who should own it isn't ready to decide. Or doing more research feels safer than making a decision.

I've found one thing that breaks it: pick the simplest action and just do it.

You'll get pushback. But more often than not, once someone acts, others find their footing and follow. Everything starts stacking from there.

Actions create actions. Then you have momentum.

I still struggle with this when it shows up. Because it feels justified at first. But when I dig in and take the first action, it usually unlocks the team.