Sometimes the most dangerous thing a leader can say is:
“Let’s keep discussing it.”
Now, I’m a big believer in coaching people. I believe in asking good questions. Listening. Getting different perspectives around the table. Helping people think for themselves rather than creating teams that depend on their manager for every answer.
Those are important leadership skills.
But there are also moments when leadership requires something different.
There are moments when the discussion has gone far enough. When the critical information is sitting in front of you. When people are looking to you. And when somebody needs to make the call.
A remarkable story from Nepal recently stopped me in my tracks because it demonstrates this so powerfully.
One Decision. 1,643 Children.
On the morning of 26 August 2026, Rajendra Dawadi, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, started receiving warnings that catastrophic floodwaters were moving towards the Trishuli Valley.
Initially, there was reason to believe the school might be safe. The three-storey concrete school sat well above the normal river level.
Perhaps the water wouldn’t reach them. Perhaps they had time. Perhaps the warning would turn out to be overly cautious.
Then more information arrived. The water was rising. Fast.
Dawadi reportedly received a warning from a friend several kilometres upstream that another community had already been hit. Soon afterwards, a parent arrived with another urgent warning.
At that point, around 900 children were already inside the school. Hundreds more were still coming. Some were walking. Others were sitting on school buses making their way towards the school.
I can only imagine what that moment must have felt like.
You are the principal. More than a thousand children have been entrusted into the care of your school. You don’t have a perfect forecast sitting on your desk. You don’t know exactly how high the river is going to rise. And whatever decision you make next has consequences.
Dawadi made the call.
He rang the school bell. He ordered the classrooms evacuated. Teachers and students began heading uphill towards higher ground. He contacted the school bus drivers and told them to turn around.
Don’t bring the children here. Go back.
Then the water came.
According to NDTV’s report on the evacuation, the flood tore through the area, destroying buildings, bridges and severely damaging the school.
All 1,643 students survived.
Think about that for a moment.
1,643 children. 1,643 sons and daughters. And 1,643 families who ultimately had their children come home.
The Guardian’s reporting on the evacuation describes how approximately 900 children were physically moved from the school before the flood struck, while The Times of India’s account provides further detail about the warnings that led to Dawadi’s decision.
There was tragedy too. Reports indicate that two members of staff later lost their lives after returning towards dangerous areas.
So I don’t want to turn this into a neat leadership story and lose sight of the fact that real people were caught in a devastating disaster.
But there is something incredibly powerful about Dawadi’s response.
He didn’t have perfect certainty. He had enough information to recognise that the risk of waiting had become greater than the risk of acting. And he acted.
Delay Is Also a Decision
That is a lesson I think leaders sometimes forget.
We often talk about the consequences of making the wrong decision. But there can also be consequences to not making one.
Every time we postpone a decision, we are effectively choosing to continue with the status quo for a little longer. Sometimes that is sensible. Sometimes we genuinely need more information. But sometimes we are simply uncomfortable making the call.
And the longer we wait, the more expensive that hesitation can become.
Thankfully, most corporate leaders will never face a wall of floodwater heading towards their workplace. But we encounter our own versions of the rising water all the time.
A major customer issue is getting worse. A safety concern appears. A project is clearly going off track. A conflict between employees is beginning to affect everyone around them. A key supplier has failed. A deadline is slipping. Poor behaviour has been tolerated for too long. A team has lost clarity about priorities. A difficult conversation keeps getting pushed into next week.
Or everyone has spent an hour discussing the issue and is now quietly waiting for somebody to say:
“Right. This is what we’re going to do.”
That is leadership too.
Situational Leadership: Good Leaders Know How to Switch
One of the reasons I really appreciate the Situational Leadership approach is that it recognises something very human: people don’t need the same type of leadership all the time.
There isn’t one perfect leadership style. And I think that can be freeing for leaders.
You don’t have to become “the coaching leader”, “the collaborative leader” or “the decisive leader”. You need to develop enough leadership range to recognise what the person and the situation need from you.
Different versions of Situational Leadership use slightly different terminology, but the approach commonly involves moving between styles such as:
- Directing / Telling – providing clear instructions, priorities, expectations and follow-up.
- Coaching / Selling – providing direction while also explaining, encouraging, questioning and developing understanding.
- Supporting / Participating – creating more involvement, confidence and ownership while the leader steps back from directing every detail.
- Delegating – placing greater responsibility into the hands of someone who has the capability and commitment to own the work.
You can read more about the framework through The Center for Leadership Studies’ overview of Situational Leadership.
The Nepal flood story was obviously an emergency rather than a corporate leadership exercise. But it illustrates the broader principle beautifully: when the situation changes, the way you lead may need to change with it.
If you are curious about your own natural leadership default, Breakthrough Corporate Training also has a free Situational Leadership Styles of Me quiz that can help you reflect on whether you tend to Tell, Sell, Participate or Delegate.
I Sometimes See Leaders Stay in Coaching Mode for Too Long
This is something I’ve noticed from time to time when working with managers and leadership teams. In leadership training rooms in Sydney and across Australia, I’ve watched very capable managers realise that one of their strengths – coaching – can also become a blind spot if they use it at the wrong time.
A leader has learned the value of coaching. That’s good. They want their team members to think. Also good. They don’t want to become the manager who constantly tells everybody what to do.
So they ask:
“What do you think?”
“What options do you see?”
“How might you approach that?”
“What does everyone else think?”
“Is there another possibility we haven’t considered?”
Those are good questions. I ask these types of questions myself. There is something rewarding about watching someone work through a problem and arrive at an answer rather than simply handing it to them.
It develops people. It creates ownership. And quite frankly, it can make leadership more enjoyable too.
But here’s the issue: sometimes the moment for coaching has passed.
Sometimes your employee doesn’t need another question. Your team doesn’t need another breakout discussion. The leadership group doesn’t need another round of Post-it notes. They need a decision.
And if you are the person who holds responsibility for that decision, there comes a point where continually asking everyone else what they think can become less about empowerment and more about avoiding the discomfort of leadership.
That is where leaders need to learn to switch.
Directing Leadership Isn’t Bad Leadership
The word “telling” can make some modern leaders uncomfortable. We’ve heard so much about coaching, psychological safety, empowerment and collaboration that Directing can almost sound like something we shouldn’t do anymore.
But Directing and domineering are not the same thing.
You can be incredibly clear while still being kind. You can make a firm decision while still respecting people. You can tell people what needs to happen without belittling them. You can be decisive without pretending you know everything.
Sometimes Directing simply means giving people the clarity they desperately need: what needs to happen, who owns it, what the priority is, what is non-negotiable, what good looks like, when it needs to be done and when you are checking back in.
There are times when clarity is one of the most caring things a leader can give their team.
Imagine being a relatively new employee and being handed a critical task you’ve never done before. The manager thinks they are empowering you by saying, “You figure it out.” The employee may not feel empowered at all. They may feel abandoned.
Sometimes people need coaching. And sometimes people simply need somebody with more experience to say:
“I’ll show you how we need to do this first. Once you’ve got it, I’ll give you more room to own it.”
That is Situational Leadership in practice.
What Directing Can Sound Like
Directing does not need to involve pounding the table. Often it sounds very calm.
“Here is the decision. This is the direction we’re taking.”
“For now, stop that process. We’re moving to the contingency plan.”
“You take A. Priya takes B. I’ll take C. Let’s regroup at 3pm.”
“I absolutely want your input on how we implement this, but the decision itself has been made.”
“This element isn’t negotiable because we have a genuine safety risk.”
“We can review this as more information comes in, but for now this is our plan.”
In fact, some of the most decisive leaders I have met are not particularly loud people. They are simply clear. You know where you stand. You know what matters. And you know what happens next.
Why Good Leaders Still Overthink Decisions
Most leaders who delay decisions aren’t lazy or incompetent. Usually there is something very human happening underneath it.
We don’t want to get it wrong. We don’t want people to think we’re controlling. We want everyone to feel heard. We worry someone will disagree. We’re hoping one more piece of information will remove the uncertainty. We don’t want to upset somebody. We know that if the decision turns out badly, the responsibility may ultimately sit with us.
I understand that. Leadership can feel lonely at times precisely because there are decisions where you can consult everybody around you and still be the person who eventually has to say yes or no.
You can gather information. You can seek advice. You can listen to your team. But eventually the decision belongs somewhere.
That is why one of the most useful questions a leader can ask is not simply:
“Do I have enough information to be certain?”
Because sometimes certainty isn’t coming. Instead ask:
“Do I have enough information to make a responsible decision?”
And then:
“What will it cost us if I wait?”
Good Decision-Making Is About Quality AND Speed
Being decisive does not mean being impulsive. I certainly don’t want leaders charging ahead without listening or thinking.
There are decisions where the wisest thing you can do is slow down. Speak to people. Run the numbers. Challenge your assumptions. Sleep on it. Get independent advice.
The point isn’t “make decisions faster”. The point is:
“Make decisions at the speed the situation requires.”
A multimillion-dollar acquisition deserves significant due diligence. A fire alarm does not. A major restructure deserves consideration. An immediate safety hazard doesn’t need a steering committee.
One of the skills great leaders gradually develop is recognising the difference.
What Is Your Organisation’s Decision Latency?
I like thinking about something I call decision latency. It is the gap between receiving important information and actually turning that information into a decision and action.
Imagine a customer issue appears on Monday. The frontline employee tells the team leader. The team leader escalates it to a manager on Tuesday. The manager puts it on Thursday’s meeting agenda. Thursday’s meeting decides that more information is needed. Someone gathers that information on Friday. The next discussion happens Tuesday. By Wednesday, somebody finally makes the decision.
Perhaps the actual decision only required fifteen minutes. But the organisation created more than a week of latency around it.
And while everyone was processing the issue internally, the customer was living with it externally.
This happens in organisations every day. Sometimes it happens because the systems are cumbersome. Sometimes nobody knows who has authority. And sometimes everybody is simply waiting for somebody else to go first.
A Simple 5D Rhythm for Decisive Leadership
1. Detect – What has changed?
A customer has complained. A number has moved. A person’s behaviour has changed. A deadline has shifted. New information has arrived. A risk has emerged. Strong leaders notice these signals early.
2. Diagnose – What is actually going on?
Separate fact from assumption. What do we genuinely know? What don’t we know? How urgent is this? How significant is the risk? What capability does the team have? And importantly: what happens if we do nothing for another day, week or month?
3. Decide – Who actually owns this decision?
If you own the decision, own it. That doesn’t mean ignoring advice. It means recognising that after you have sought the advice, somebody still needs to decide. Leadership often involves making the best decision you reasonably can with the information available at that point in time.
4. Direct – Make the next step clear.
Once you decide, communicate. What are we doing? Why? Who owns what? By when? What is negotiable? What isn’t? When will we check back in? A good decision poorly communicated can quickly become a bad outcome.
5. Debrief – Then learn.
Once the immediate situation has settled, bring people back into the conversation. What worked? What didn’t? What did we miss? What can we learn? What could the team own next time without needing the manager to step in? Then switch again: perhaps now it is time to Coach, Support or Delegate.
Leadership is movement.
When Might You Need to Become More Directive?
There isn’t a perfect formula, but you should probably start considering a more directive approach when:
- The window for action is closing.
- There is a significant safety, legal, compliance, customer or operational risk.
- People genuinely don’t know what to do next.
- The employee does not yet have the competence or experience for that particular task.
- Multiple people need to coordinate around one clear plan.
- Further consultation is unlikely to materially change the decision.
- You clearly hold responsibility for making the call.
- The cost of waiting is starting to exceed the value of gathering more information.
- Your team has crossed the line from thoughtful analysis into paralysis.
Please Don’t Direct Everything
Some managers fall into exactly the opposite trap. They direct every decision. They tell experienced people how to perform tasks they have done successfully for years. They want to approve everything.
Eventually their team becomes cautious. People stop taking initiative. They stop making decisions. Everything moves upwards. And then the leader gets frustrated:
“Why does everybody keep coming to me?”
Sometimes because we have inadvertently trained them to.
If you constantly take ownership away from capable people, they eventually learn not to own things. That’s why Situational Leadership matters.
The question isn’t: “Which leadership style am I?” The much more useful question is:
“What does this person and this situation need from me right now?”
Sometimes they need you to ask a great question. Sometimes they need encouragement. Sometimes they need you to get out of the way. Sometimes they need you to sit beside them. And sometimes they need you to look them in the eye and say:
“This is what we’re doing. Let’s go.”
Helping Managers Become More Decisive Leaders
One of the things I really enjoy about leadership development is watching a manager realise:
“I actually have more choices in how I lead than I thought.”
Leadership isn’t simply personality. And decision-making isn’t something you either have or don’t have. These are capabilities we can develop.
At Breakthrough Corporate Training, we work with organisations to tailor leadership development around the actual situations their managers are facing. Our existing leadership programs include areas such as effective decision-making, delegation, team leadership and leadership style, and can be tailored to the outcomes an organisation wants.
Rather than simply teaching models on slides, we want leaders asking:
“What does this look like with MY team?”
“Where am I over-coaching?”
“Where am I over-directing?”
“Which conversations am I avoiding?”
“Which decisions are taking far too long?”
“Where does my team need more clarity from me?”
Our leadership and manager training can incorporate Situational Leadership, decisive decision-making, leadership communication, delegation, accountability, emotional intelligence, coaching, conflict management and difficult conversations.
You can learn more about our leadership development training in Sydney and across Australia.
We can also build realistic workplace scenarios where leaders have to process incomplete information, assess the situation, make the call, communicate their decision and receive feedback.
Because there is a big difference between knowing the theory of leadership and being able to lead when the pressure is real.
Frequently Asked Questions About Situational Leadership and Decisive Decision-Making
What is the Directing or Telling style in Situational Leadership?
The Directing or Telling style is a high-direction leadership approach where the manager provides clear expectations about what needs to be done, who owns it, the standard required, the timeframe and the next review point. It is especially useful when someone is new to a task, when risk or urgency is high, or when a team needs one coordinated direction.
When should a manager stop coaching and start directing?
A manager should consider switching from Coaching to Directing when continued questioning is adding less value than clarity. Warning signs include rising risk, a closing time window, low task competence, confusion about ownership, or a situation where the leader clearly holds the decision-making responsibility.
How can managers make decisions faster without becoming reckless?
Separate facts from assumptions, define who owns the decision, gather the information that could materially change the choice, consider the cost of delay, and time-box consultation. Make the best responsible decision with the information available, communicate it clearly, and set a trigger for review as new information arrives.
What is decision latency in leadership?
Decision latency is the time between receiving important information and converting it into a decision and action. Excessive decision latency can create avoidable costs through customer frustration, project delays, unresolved conflict, missed opportunities and organisational confusion.
What is the difference between Coaching and Directing leadership?
Coaching helps people think, understand and build capability through questions, explanation and support. Directing creates clarity by specifying the required action and standard. Effective leaders do not choose one forever; they flex between them according to the person, task, urgency and risk.
Does Breakthrough Corporate Training provide leadership training in Sydney?
Yes. Breakthrough Corporate Training provides tailored leadership training in Sydney and can deliver leadership and manager development programs across Australia and internationally. Programs can be built around the organisation’s needs rather than forcing every leadership team through the same generic course.
Can leadership training combine Situational Leadership and decisive decision-making?
Yes. Situational Leadership and decision-making work well together because leaders need to diagnose the situation before choosing both the leadership style and the speed of decision required. A tailored program can also integrate communication, delegation, accountability, emotional intelligence and difficult conversations.
Will Your Leaders Know When to Make the Call?
I keep coming back to Rajendra Dawadi standing at that school in Nepal. He didn’t know exactly what was about to happen. He simply knew enough to recognise that waiting was becoming the bigger risk.
He rang the bell. He redirected the buses. He got the children moving uphill. And 1,643 children survived.
Our corporate decisions will rarely carry consequences anywhere near that magnitude. But the principle is still worth reflecting on.
When critical information reaches your managers, will they recognise it? Will they assess it? Will they know when to keep asking questions? Will they know when more consultation will genuinely improve the outcome? And will they know when the time for questions has finished?
Because eventually, leadership requires somebody to make the call.
Develop Leaders Who Know When to Coach – and When to Lead Decisively
If your organisation wants to strengthen the capability of your managers and leaders in decision-making, Situational Leadership, communication, accountability and effective people leadership, we would love to talk with you.
At Breakthrough Corporate Training, we can tailor leadership training around the situations your managers are actually experiencing.
That might mean a focused workshop around Decisive Decision-Making and Situational Leadership, or we can integrate these capabilities into a broader leadership development program.
For organisations looking for leadership training in Sydney, manager training in Sydney, leadership development in Sydney or tailored leadership training across Australia, we can build a practical program around your people, your workplace challenges and the leadership behaviours you want to strengthen.
Because ultimately, effective leadership isn’t about memorising four leadership styles. It’s recognising what the moment requires – and having the confidence, judgement and capability to respond.
Sometimes leadership is listening. Sometimes leadership is coaching. Sometimes leadership is stepping back. And sometimes leadership is stepping forward and saying:
“This is the decision. Let’s move.”
Sources and Further Reading
NDTV – How Rajendra Dawadi’s quick action helped save 1,643 students
The Guardian – Headteacher evacuates students before the Nepal flash flood
The Times of India – The warnings and decision that led to the school evacuation
The Center for Leadership Studies – Situational Leadership model overview
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