Type 1 vs. Type 2 Decisions: Teach Your Team to Stop Asking Permission

Your team asks you to approve everything. Emails. Invoices. Project timelines. Tool purchases. Client communication. Scheduling decisions.

You thought hiring a team would lighten your load. Instead, your Slack is busier than ever, and you’re approving decisions you never wanted to be involved in.

Here’s what’s happening: your team doesn’t know which decisions they’re allowed to make alone and which ones actually need you.

So they play it safe. They ask permission for everything. And you stay stuck as the bottleneck.

But here’s the truth: most of the decisions they’re asking you about? They don’t need your approval. They’re reversible, low-risk, and perfectly safe for your team to own.

The problem is, no one taught them how to tell the difference.

The Two Types of Decisions

Jeff Bezos breaks decisions into two categories: Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 decisions are irreversible. Once you make them, you can’t easily go back. They’re high-stakes, high-consequence, and require careful thought.

Examples:

• Hiring a senior leader
• Signing a multi-year contract
• Changing your business model
• Selling equity
• Shutting down a product line

These decisions deserve slow, deliberate consideration. These are the ones you should be involved in.

Type 2 decisions are reversible. If you don’t like the outcome, you can change course quickly. They’re low-risk, low-consequence, and can be made fast.

Examples:

• Sending a client update email
• Adjusting a project timeline by a few days
• Choosing a meeting time
• Approving a $50 software tool
• Scheduling a follow-up call

These decisions don’t need you. Your team can make them, learn from them, and adjust if needed.

The problem? Most founders treat every decision like a Type 1 decision. And most teams assume every decision needs founder approval.

So the founder stays buried in low-stakes approvals, and the team stays stuck waiting for permission.

Why Your Team Asks Permission for Everything

Your team isn’t asking you to approve every little decision because they’re incapable of deciding. They’re asking because the boundaries aren’t clear.

They don’t know which decisions are Type 1 (irreversible, high-stakes) and which are Type 2 (reversible, low-risk).

So they play it safe. They come to you for everything. And you reinforce the pattern by answering every time.

Here’s how it shows up:

Your team asks: “Should I send this email to the client?” What they’re really asking: “Is this a Type 1 or Type 2 decision?”

Your team asks: “Can I adjust the project timeline by two days?” What they’re really asking: “Do I have authority over scheduling, or is that a Type 1 decision that needs you?”

Your team asks: “Should we use this template or create a custom one?” What they’re really asking: “Is quality control a Type 1 decision, or can I make this call?”

Every time they ask and you answer, you’re teaching them: Don’t decide. Wait for me.

And the longer this pattern runs, the harder it is to break.

How to Teach Your Team the Difference

The fix isn’t complicated. You need to teach your team how to recognize Type 1 vs. Type 2 decisions so they can stop asking permission for the reversible stuff.

Here’s the framework I use with clients.

The Three-Question Test

Before your team comes to you with a decision, they should ask themselves three questions:

Question 1: Is this decision reversible? If we don’t like the outcome, can we undo it or adjust course quickly?

If yes → Type 2. Make the call. If no → Type 1. Flag it for approval.

Question 2: What’s the worst-case scenario? If this decision goes wrong, what’s the actual cost?

If the cost is low (time, money, or reputation) → Type 2. Make the call. If the cost is high → Type 1. Flag it for approval.

Question 3: Is this my area of ownership? Do I own this system, process, or client relationship?

If yes → Type 2 (assuming it’s reversible). Make the call. If no → Check with the owner or escalate.

When your team runs decisions through this filter, 80% of what they used to ask you about becomes a clear Type 2. And they stop bottlenecking on you.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Let’s take a real example from a client I worked with.

The Situation: Her project manager kept asking permission to adjust client timelines. Every time a client requested a deadline shift, the PM would Slack her: “Client wants to move the deadline to Friday instead of Thursday. Is that okay?”

The Problem: The founder didn’t care about one-day timeline adjustments. But because she’d never clarified decision authority, the PM assumed every timeline change needed approval.

The Fix: We applied the Three-Question Test.

1. Is adjusting a timeline by one day reversible? Yes.
2. What’s the worst-case scenario? Client gets their deliverable one day later. Low impact.
3. Does the PM own project timelines? Yes.

The Outcome: Type 2 decision. The PM now owns timeline adjustments up to three days without approval. Anything longer gets flagged.

Within two weeks, the founder’s Slack interruptions dropped by 60%. The PM made faster decisions. Clients were happier because responses came quicker.

And here’s the best part: the quality didn’t drop. The PM made good calls because they had clarity on what they were allowed to decide.

How to Implement This in Your Business

Here’s how to teach your team to stop asking permission for Type 2 decisions.

Step 1: Define what your team owns

Sit down with your team and map ownership.

Who owns client communication? Who owns project timelines? Who owns tool purchasing? Who owns invoicing?

Clear ownership makes the Type 1 vs. Type 2 filter much easier to apply.

Step 2: Teach them the Three-Question Test

Walk your team through the framework:

1. Is it reversible?
2. What’s the worst case?
3. Is it my area of ownership?

Make it simple. Make it repeatable. Make it part of how you operate.

Step 3: Set authority thresholds

For each area of ownership, define the threshold where Type 2 becomes Type 1.

Examples:

• “You can approve tool purchases under $200 without asking me. Anything over that, flag it.”
• “You can adjust project timelines by up to one week. Anything longer needs approval.”
• “You can offer a refund up to $500. Anything higher, check with me first.”

Clear thresholds remove ambiguity. Your team knows exactly when to decide and when to escalate.

Step 4: Let them make Type 2 decisions (and learn from them)

This is the hard part.

Your team is going to make decisions you wouldn’t make. They’re going to do things differently than you would.

And that’s fine.

Because Type 2 decisions are reversible. If something goes wrong, you adjust. You learn. You refine the threshold.

But if you jump in and override every decision, you’re back to being the bottleneck. And your team learns: Don’t decide. Wait for the founder.

Why This Matters for Scale

If your team can’t recognize Type 1 vs. Type 2 decisions, you can’t scale.

Because as your business grows, the volume of decisions grows. And if every decision runs through you, you hit a ceiling fast.

But when your team can confidently make Type 2 decisions, you free up your time for the work that actually needs you: strategy, relationships, revenue-generating decisions, and the Type 1 calls that shape the business.

Your role shifts from approving everything to leading the business. And that’s when growth gets easier.

This Is the Assign Phase

Teaching your team to recognize Type 1 vs. Type 2 decisions is core to the Assign phase of the Operations Reset Framework.

Extract gets the system out of your head and defines what decisions exist. Assign transfers decision authority to your team so they can move without you. Scale builds the rhythm and feedback loops to keep decisions flowing smoothly.

When all three phases work together, you get The Reset: a business where your team makes Type 2 decisions confidently, escalates Type 1 decisions appropriately, and you’re no longer the single point of failure.

But it starts here. With teaching your team the difference between reversible and irreversible decisions. And giving them permission to stop asking for yours.

Stop Approving Everything

If your team is still asking permission for every decision, the problem isn’t them. It’s clarity.

Teaching your team to recognize Type 1 vs. Type 2 decisions is core to the Assign phase of the Operations Reset Framework. When you Extract the system from your head, Assign decision authority to your team, and Scale the rhythm, you get The Reset: a business where your team makes confident decisions without bottlenecking on you.