11 November 2025
When the management layer outgrows hallway decisions
Growing companies often keep informal decision habits long after the hallway stops being large enough. Here is how to notice the shift.
In early years, many Australian businesses run on proximity. The founder overhears a problem, two managers settle it near the kettle, and work continues. That pattern feels efficient until the management circle grows and hallway decisions leave half the team guessing.
The first signal is usually repetition. The same priority debate returns every fortnight because no one recorded who owns the call. The second signal is escalation: managers bring routine trade-offs upstairs instead of resolving them with peers.
A useful response is not a thicker policy manual. It is a short map of which decisions sit with individuals, which need a paired conversation, and which belong in the full management meeting. Writing that map together often surfaces disagreements that were previously unspoken.
Once the map exists, protect a standing slot for live decisions. Keep the agenda short. Bring one contested issue, state the options, and close with a named owner and a review date. Over a quarter, the hallway habit loosens because the group has somewhere else to take the hard calls.