When execution is blocked by the wrong decision rights

A regulator mandated a change to industry classification that affected a monthly regulatory report.

Data capture processes were redesigned. Source systems were updated. The data warehouse was adjusted. Downstream reports were rebuilt. End-to-end testing was completed.

A large, cross-functional effort.

When the work was finished, only formal sign-off remained. The regulatory deadline was days away.

Decision authority sat with a mid-level manager who had no involvement in the work and limited domain expertise across the changes made.

He did not review the work. He did not decide. He attempted to pass the decision elsewhere.

Responsibility circulated. No one decided.

Delay carried no cost. Action carried risk. Non-decision became the safest option.

Execution resumed only after the formal decision path was bypassed. Additional analysis was prepared. Another senior stakeholder was engaged and convinced to assume responsibility.

The change was approved. The deadline was met. But the design held.

Authority sat with someone detached from the work and insulated from consequences.

He held veto power without domain knowledge. He absorbed no risk if the deadline was missed. He carried full exposure if the change was wrong.

When sign-off power is detached from knowledge and accountability, urgency does not accelerate execution.

Formal authority collapses, and decisions occur outside the system.