Move Forward And Get Things Done
Ask for Permission now or Apologize later?
In the world of software development, there's a concept that often sneaks into teams and organizations: waiting for permission before starting anything. At first glance, it seems logical. After all, what if the stakes are high? What if the decision impacts millions of users, or worse, crashes production? Yes, sometimes waiting for approval makes sense; when the blast radius of failure is catastrophic.
But let’s be honest, most of the work we do as teams doesn’t carry that level of risk. Yet, teams often stall, waiting for someone to sign off, nod in approval, or worse, micromanage their every move. And what does that do? It kills innovation, destroys momentum, and saps the confidence right out of the people you hired to solve problems.
Why Do We Wait?
The answer often lies in culture. Many organizations unintentionally create environments where seeking permission becomes a default behavior. Teams fear making the wrong decision because:
Leadership doesn’t have their back when things go wrong.
There's a history of "shooting the messenger" rather than solving the problem.
Every minor mistake is met with excessive scrutiny.
Ironically, this environment leads to the very thing leaders dread: inertia. Teams become paralyzed, stuck in endless loops of “Can we do this?” and “What if it fails?”
The Flip Side: Trusting the Experts
Let’s flip this on its head. The teams on the ground, the developers, designers, and product managers, are the experts. They are closest to the problems and often have the clearest understanding of what needs to be done. When they have confidence and trust, they can move forward, experiment, and innovate.
But this trust has to flow both ways:
Teams Need Leadership’s Trust
Teams should know their boundaries. What’s in scope and what isn’t. Within those boundaries, they should have the freedom to make decisions without waiting for a green light on every little thing.Leadership Needs the Team’s Confidence
Leadership must guide teams toward expected outcomes, not micromanage the path to get there. More importantly, they must have their teams' backs when things don’t go as planned. Mistakes happen. What matters is learning from them, keeping the blast radius small, and moving forward.
Fail-Fast, Fail-Forward
Here’s the thing about innovation: It doesn’t come from playing it safe. It comes from taking risks, learning from failures, and iterating quickly.
Fail-fast: Don’t drag out failures. Plan work in increments, identify if things are progressing in the right direction, learn from them, and adapt.
Fail-forward: Use the lessons from failure to propel the team toward better solutions. Don’t make the same mistake twice. Each time you fail, it should be a new mistake.
If every decision requires a committee, a flowchart, and three levels of approvals, you’re not moving fast enough to fail or succeed.
The Price of Waiting
When teams are stuck waiting for approval:
Confidence Erodes: If every idea needs validation from above, teams start doubting their own expertise.
Momentum Dies: Delays in decision-making slow down progress, leading to missed deadlines and lost opportunities.
Innovation Stalls: When teams are afraid to take risks, they stick to safe, mediocre ideas. And safe ideas don’t lead markets.
How to Move Forward (and Not Burn the World)
So how do we empower teams to move forward without causing chaos? Here’s the balance:
Start with Leadership Trust
Establish a vision where boundaries act as enablers, not barriers. Instead of breathing down your team’s necks, guide them toward outcomes and let them decide the best way to get there.Encourage Data-Driven Decisions
Teams should have confidence in their decisions, and that confidence should come from data. Before making a move, ask:What’s the expected impact?
What’s the risk?
Do we have metrics to validate the results?
Keep the Blast Radius Small
When experimenting, ensure the potential impact of failure is limited. Test in controlled environments, roll out changes incrementally, or A/B test with a small user group.Foster a Culture of Psychological Safety
Leaders must create an environment where failure is seen as a learning opportunity, not a reason to assign blame. Celebrate lessons learned, especially from failed experiments.Context is the King
Teams need to deeply understand the purpose and context behind their work. Clearly define the "why" and "what" of a project, but let the team figure out the "how." When teams see how their work aligns with the bigger picture, they’re better equipped to make confident, informed decisions without constant oversight.
Move Forward and Innovate
At the end of the day, companies that want to innovate and lead the market must empower their teams to act. Waiting for permission to solve problems kills confidence, undermines expertise, and halts innovation. Teams need the trust and freedom to make decisions, take risks, and learn from their mistakes.
So ask yourself: Are you creating an environment where teams feel empowered to move forward? Or are you stalling progress with endless approvals? Most of the time, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than to wait for permission.
The choice is yours. Innovate or Stagnate. What will it be? 🚀