A team leader who hesitates to make decisions stifles innovation, delays progress, and quietly trains their team to stop trying. Here’s how it works: The team presents an idea, and the leader says, “Hmm, let me think about it.” Then nothing happens. The next idea gets the same response. Suggestions for change and improvements stall on their desk. Eventually, the team learns to stop innovating because the leader seems to prefer the status quo.
If this scenario sounds familiar, you have probably experienced an overly cautious leader. This kind of behaviour can damage team performance and slow progress on critical business objectives.
Characteristics of Cautious Leaders
At Hogan Assessments, we use three personality assessments to build a complete personality profile of a leader. One of them, the Hogan Development Survey (HDS), measures 11 personality characteristics called derailers. Also known as dark-side personality characteristics, these are strengths when properly managed but can cause career derailment when overused. Derailers may emerge in times of stress, anxiety, boredom, or whenever someone isn’t monitoring their behaviour. Hesitation to the extent that it hinders team performance is often a sign of the Cautious derailer.
The Cautious personality scale describes risk tolerance and attitude toward change. An appropriately cautious leader tends to be deliberate and careful in making decisions, helping protect their organisation from excessive risk. The dark side of caution, however, can make the leader seem unassertive, self-doubting, and resistant to change.
When a leader is experiencing negative emotions, such as worry or fear, the Cautious derailer can be triggered. A leader might resist implementing new technology because they’re concerned about receiving criticism if it goes awry. They might also avoid new people and situations to protect themselves from embarrassment. Sometimes this indecisive behaviour appears without warning, causing a significant loss of momentum.
An Expert Perspective on the Cautious Derailer
In this video, Cody Warren, MA, explains the Cautious derailer and its impact on team performance, decision-making, and organisational momentum.
The Hidden Performance Costs of Caution
Carefulness, thoroughness, and risk awareness are genuine leadership strengths, but only when kept in check. Left unmanaged, the Cautious derailer can create serious problems for the leader, their team, and their organisation. Indecisive leaders tend to retain inefficient or outdated processes and technology. Their behaviour can delay organisational projects, revenue goals, and strategic objectives.
Cautious behaviour in leaders can have negative consequences for their reputations, with others viewing them as inhibited, indecisive, and even fearful. A reputation for timidity can cause leaders to get passed over at executive levels where a greater degree of assertiveness is expected. Their hesitation can cause frustration, mistrust, or inhibited creativity in team members. As a result, teams led by change-resistant leaders risk becoming disengaged and unproductive.
What to Do About Too Much Hesitation
When it comes to making decisions, leaders with the Cautious derailer should ask, “What is an acceptable degree of risk here?” Of course, no leader can predict every outcome of a business strategy. Some ambiguity will always accompany any decision, but analysing the quantity or quality of information needed before deciding can help. For instance, using statistical data or relying on an expert opinion can mitigate risk and clarify a course of action.
One effective development activity for Cautious leaders is practicing assertiveness. This starts with a mindset shift: what might feel aggressive to a Cautious leader is often simply the directness their role requires. Team members need a leader who is willing to be firm and straightforward when needed. To help build a practice of decisiveness, the leader could build a network of reliable subject matter experts whose opinions can inform their decisions. They should also be transparent with their team about their decision-making process, such as how much time they typically need and what kinds of evidence they find most useful.
A Cautious leader’s direct reports might find it helpful to propose ideas accompanied by background research or social proof. Since fear of failure, criticism, or embarrassment can trigger excessive caution, direct reports can reduce that friction by delivering critical feedback privately. They should also communicate deadlines as early as possible so that there is less pressure to make a quick decision.
With strategic self-awareness, Cautious leaders can leverage their natural thoroughness without letting hesitation hold their teams back.
Expert Contributor
Cody Warren, MA, is an industrial-organisational psychologist who is director of knowledge and infrastructure in the data science department at Hogan. When the featured video was filmed, he held the title of senior consultant on the talent solutions team.
*This article originally appeared on Hogan Assessments.
