Some managers make endless requests for data as a way to postpone their having to make a decision. Employees end up spinning in circles, slicing and dicing the information far beyond what is truly needed for the manager to make a decision.
Some managers are simply afraid to make a decision in fear of making a “wrong” decision. These managers don't necessarily request needless data, but simply just never decide.
Successful managers gather the data from their employees, make any truly necessary follow-up requests (probing beyond what their employee may have researched/gathered on their own), and then make their decision…knowing that in virtually all cases most decisions are not black and white “right or “wrong,” but are the best decisions made at that time for the current circumstances.
Good managers know that most decisions can be tweaked along the way as their teams carry out their tasks impacted by the decision.
