How to Overcome Decision Friction
April 3, 2026 A former colleague of mine, who now works in business performance facilitation and leadership, recently sent me an email about what he called “decision friction” and why it can be the hidden force slowing an organization’s progress. Naturally, I was intrigued.
As I read, it quickly became clear that decision friction develops when companies have weak decision-making processes in place. Usually, it is not a matter of having too little information. In fact, most companies have more data than they know what to do with. More often, the problem stems from unclear authority, inefficient meetings, hesitation to speak openly, or some combination of the three.
And when that happens, simply tweaking a process does not always solve the problem. Worse, the consequences can be costly, leading to delays, missed opportunities, and stalled progress.
The “Decision Friction Map™” identifies five of the most common sources of friction within teams:
1. Clarity Friction
The problem is not clearly defined, making it difficult to identify the right solution.
2. Authority Friction
It is unclear who owns the decision. The result is often a delay, as no one is willing to take action.
3. Information Friction
Teams confuse more data with better decision-making. Instead of moving forward, they get stuck in an endless cycle of analysis.
4. Alignment Friction
This happens when people say they agree, but underlying doubts remain. Even an obvious solution can become difficult to act on.
5. Emotional Friction
When unspoken tension interferes with clear thinking, fear or reputational risk sits just beneath the surface of decision-making conversations.
I have no doubt that one or more of these situations has surfaced at your operation at some point. Consider a few possible scenarios:
- A long-time employee is burned out. Do you move them to another area, offer incentives to reengage them, or decide it is time to part ways?
- You are considering adding a new transplanter, but the price tag stretches beyond your budget, and there is disagreement over whether the investment is worth it.
- A customer asks you to add a new plant to your assortment, but you have little to no experience growing it.
Each of these situations has the potential to create decision friction. But before you can solve the problem, you first need to identify where friction is showing up most often on your team. Answer that question, and the path forward may become much clearer.
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