How Decision Clarity Eliminates Rescue Mode
Rescue mode isn’t heroism. It’s a decision rights leak that drains your capacity to think.
The hidden cost
Every “quick fix” spends your decision budget on choices that aren’t yours. By afternoon, the $50k decisions get whatever’s left.
The real problem
Unclear decision rights invite rescues. When they don’t know who decides, they default to you. When you’re unclear where your authority ends, you default to solving.
Twenty tiny rescues equals zero capacity for strategy.
The clarity practice
Before jumping in, ask:
Who owns this outcome?
What decision are they actually asking me to make?
Is this a decision rights problem or an execution problem?
Give people a simple map:
Hat decisions: they choose (reversible, low risk)
Haircut decisions: they choose and inform (grows back)
Tattoo decisions: you align together (permanent stakes)
What changed
I stopped making decisions that weren’t mine. Decision capacity came back. The team owned solutions. I owned strategy. Small fires became tuition, not emergencies.
Output up. Decision fatigue down. Strategic velocity up.
The test
Next time someone brings a problem, ask: “Who should own this decision?”
If it’s them, don’t take it back. If it’s you, decide and move. If it’s unclear, clarify now.
Do this today
List your top 5 recurring rescues. Label each hat, haircut, or tattoo. Put the owner’s name next to each and share with the team.
Your decision capacity is finite. Spend it on decisions that are actually yours.