# How to Manage an Employee Who Always Says That's Not My Decision to Make

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-manager-s-hour-with-fexingo-people-management-team-building-and-leadership-skills-7871622/how-to-manage-an-employee-who-always-says-that-s-not-my-decision-to-make
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-manager-s-hour-with-fexingo-people-management-team-building-and-leadership-skills-7871622/how-to-manage-an-employee-who-always-says-that-s-not-my-decision-to-make.md
Podcast: [The Manager's Hour with Fexingo: People Management, Team Building, and Leadership Skills](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-manager-s-hour-with-fexingo-people-management-team-building-and-leadership-skills-7871622)
Published: 2026-07-11T16:48:51+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-managers-hour/episode-0108.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/business/the-managers-hour/episode-0108.mp3
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Duration seconds: 392

## Resource

Episode 108 of The Manager's Hour tackles a tricky leadership pattern: the employee who constantly defers decisions upward. Lucas and Luna break down why some team members habitually say 'That's not my decision to make' and how managers can fix it without micromanaging. They explore a real case from a mid-sized marketing agency where a senior designer kept escalating routine choices — font selection, vendor outreach, even scheduling follow-ups. The hosts walk through the root causes: fear of blame, ambiguous authority boundaries, and learned helplessness. Lucas shares a three-step framework for shifting ownership back: clarifying decision scope, creating a 'try before you escalate' rule, and reframing mistakes as learning costs. Luna pushes back with a counterpoint about genuinely over-delegated managers and the difference between empowerment and abandonment. They land on a practical litmus test managers can use in the moment — the 'ten-minute rule' — and discuss how to gradually expand an employee's decision radius. Concrete script for the next 1:1 included. No theory. Just a fix you can use this week. #EmployeeDeferringDecisions #DecisionOwnership #Empowerment #LeadershipSkills #PeopleManagement #TeamBuilding #ManagerTools #Delegation #Micromanagement #LearnedHelplessness #GrowthMindset #ManagerHour #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #WorkplaceCulture #1on1Meetings #DecisionScope #TryBeforeYouEscalate Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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