🚩 Tactical Memo 041: Decision-Making Is the Real PM Skill (And No One Trains It)

Read time: 9 minutes

Welcome to Tactical Memo, my newsletter where I share clear lessons and simple systems for people who run projects, lead teams, and make decisions.

If you want practical guidance you can use at work this week, you are in the right place.

👉 Why Read This Edition: You’ll see why most project failures aren’t execution problems at all, they’re decision failures that showed up too late. And you’ll learn how to stop being a status reporter and start being a decision leader.

What This Edition Covers

1. Why execution isn’t the real issue

2. Why most project updates are useless to executives

3. How PMs become risk absorbers instead of decision drivers

4. What separates decision leaders from task managers

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The Problem

Most Project Failures Aren’t Execution Failures

They’re decision failures.

And they fail quietly.

The tasks were tracked.
The dashboards were green.
The meetings were held.
The updates were sent.

Still, the project died.

Why?

Because no one forced the hard decisions early.

Most PMs are trained to manage work.

Almost no one trains them to force decisions.

And here’s the uncomfortable part:

That’s not a systems issue.

That’s a leadership gap.

The Rule: Status Visibility Is Not Decision Visibility

Seeing work is not the same as deciding work.

You can have perfect dashboards and zero momentum.

You can have detailed reports and no direction.

Most project updates fail executives because they inform without demanding action.

Executives do not need more visibility.
They need clarity on what must be chosen.

If your update ends without a decision, you just created noise.

A Tactical Playbook: Stop Managing Tasks. Start Forcing Decisions.

This is where most smart PMs get stuck.

They become excellent at tracking risk.
Excellent at reporting progress.
Excellent at absorbing chaos.

And invisible in the rooms that matter.

Let’s fix that.

1. Stop sending updates that don’t require action

If your update does not force a choice, it is theater.

Example:
You say, “We are trending behind schedule.”
Everyone nods. Nothing changes.

Now try this:
“We are behind schedule. We either add resources or cut scope. Which do we choose?”

Silence means people have to think.

New move:
End every executive update with one line: Decision required.

2. Stop absorbing risk to keep things looking clean

High-performing PMs often hide problems by working harder.

You fix things quietly.
You protect leadership from discomfort.
You keep the status green.

And you train everyone to depend on you instead of deciding.

Example:
You work nights to hit a milestone. Leadership never sees the strain. The systemic issue remains. You burn out. The organization learns nothing.

New move:
Surface risk early. Make trade-offs visible. Make discomfort productive.

3. Stop confusing escalation with leadership

Escalation without a recommendation is abdication.

Example:
“There’s a problem. What should we do?”

That’s not leadership. That’s outsourcing courage.

Now try this:
“There’s a problem. Here are two options. I recommend Option B because it protects timeline.”

New move:
Never escalate without a point of view.

4. Stop hiding behind consensus

Consensus feels safe. It also slows everything down.

Projects don’t die from bad ideas.
They die from delayed calls.

Example:
You wait for everyone to align. Weeks pass. The window closes.

New move:
When you have 70 percent clarity, make the call. Adjust later.

5. Build decision visibility, not task visibility

Dashboards show tasks. Leaders need to see forks in the road.

Example:
Your tracker shows 80 percent complete. What it doesn’t show is that two paths exist — one fast and risky, one slow and stable.

Leadership never sees the fork. The wrong assumptions persist.

New move:
In every report, highlight where a path splits and what each path costs

6. Decide what you already own

Many PMs wait for permission they don’t need.

You escalate small calls.
You defer minor trade-offs.
You ask instead of act.

That trains leaders to see you as dependent.

New move:
List decisions already within your scope. Decide them. Move.

7. Separate production from judgment

AI can produce analysis in seconds.

If your value is generating reports, you’re replaceable.

If your value is interpreting trade-offs, you’re essential.

New move:
Use AI to draft. Spend your time making the call.

What To Do Right Now

• Review your last update. Did it force a decision?

• Add “Decision required” to your next executive message.

• Surface one risk you’ve been absorbing silently.

• Make one call today without waiting for perfect clarity.

• Escalate one issue with a recommendation, not a question.

• Stop protecting leaders from hard trade-offs.

If this feels uncomfortable, good.

Growth usually is.

If this helped you, send it to someone who could use it this week.

Until next time,
Justin

✍️ From the Desk of Justin Bateh, PhD
Simple tactics. Real results. No fluff.