I almost switched my cell phone carrier this week.
After more than 20 years with the same company. Not because of price. Not because of coverage. Because of terrible customer service.
And yet, I hesitated.
That’s when it hit me. This wasn’t really about phone service. It was about something leaders deal with every single day: risk aversion.
We’re Wired to Protect What We Have
Research shows that humans are wired to protect what they already have, even when a better option exists. The potential loss feels bigger than the potential gain, even when it isn’t.
It’s not a flaw. It’s human. But when it quietly drives your decisions as a leader, it becomes a problem.
The same instinct that kept me on a frustrating phone plan is what keeps leaders holding onto things that no longer work, putting off hard conversations, and waiting too long to make a change. Not because they don’t know what to do. Because change feels riskier than staying put.
What This Looks Like in Leadership
It rarely shows up as fear. That would be easier to spot.
Instead, it shows up as hesitation that looks like caution. Delay that looks like careful thinking. Doing nothing feels like patience, but is really avoidance.
None of it feels like risk aversion from the inside. It feels like being careful. Being thorough. Being fair.
But at some point, staying put stops being a neutral choice. It becomes a decision, with its own cost.
Doing Nothing Is Still a Choice
This is the part leaders most often miss: not deciding carries a cost too.
The thing you don’t fix creates friction your team deals with every day. The conversation you put off gets harder the longer you wait. The shift you keep delaying doesn’t go away, the gap just grows.
Staying put feels safe because the fallout isn’t always right away. But it adds up. And by the time it shows, the cost has already been paid, quietly, over time, by you and the people you lead.
The Question That Frees Up Stuck Decisions
When I work with leaders who are stuck, there’s one question I keep coming back to:
Are you avoiding real risk or just discomfort?
These are not the same thing. Real risk has a genuine downside and deserves careful thought. Discomfort is the friction of doing something hard, having a tough conversation, letting go of something familiar, making a call before you feel fully ready. It feels like a risk. It isn’t.
Most of the decisions leaders put off fall into the second group. They already know what needs to happen. What they’re dealing with isn’t uncertainty. It’s the feeling that comes with acting on what they already know.
Name which one you’re facing, and the way forward gets much clearer.
What Decision Have You Been Putting Off?
Not the ones that need more time or information. The ones where you already have enough, and you’re still waiting.
That’s usually where the real work is.
Stuck on a decision in your leadership? Let’s talk.
#Leadership #DecisionMaking #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #BehavioralEconomics