You believe in your team. You know what the next move should be, whether it’s a new hire, a key internal promotion, or a fresh investment in leadership development. The gaps are visible. The direction seems obvious.
And yet… nothing happens.
ForceBrands’ 2025 State of the Consumer Brands Industry Report uncovered a surprising pattern: even confident leadership teams are putting critical talent decisions on pause. It’s not for lack of vision or belief in their people; it’s because direction hasn’t been clearly defined.
- 60% of leaders without hiring clarity are delaying new hires
- 1 in 3 leaders who are confident in their current teams are still stalling key people decisions
- 36% are holding off on new hires even when needs are known
- 26% are delaying investments in internal team development
This kind of hesitation may not show up as a crisis, but it slows momentum and undermines growth. The real problem? Misalignment, not indecision.
Confidence ≠ Clarity
There’s a growing body of research showing that many high-performing teams are actually more susceptible to stalling. Why? Because success masks underlying ambiguity.
According to a 2023 Harvard Business Review article, many teams operate with "assumed alignment," where confidence in team performance leads leaders to overlook gaps in shared understanding and accountability. When responsibilities or decision rights are unclear, progress is quietly derailed, even when conviction is high.
McKinsey echoes this in its 2022 decision-making research, which found that a lack of clarity around roles was a leading cause of slow or stalled decisions at the executive level. Organizations that implemented clearly defined decision models were 2.5x more likely to make timely, effective strategic calls.
So what happens when there’s no clear roadmap, even when leaders believe in their team? Critical hiring decisions stall. Internal talent sits undeveloped. And eventually, performance suffers, not because the people are wrong, but because the structure is misaligned.
The Cost of Decision Paralysis
When talent strategy is unclear, delay becomes the default. The 2025 State of the Industry Report data makes that plain:
- Even among leaders with full confidence in their teams, nearly a third have not made a key hire they know is necessary.
- 59% of leaders who are still “evaluating team needs” have postponed hiring decisions.
- Among those who do know who they need to hire, 42% are still hesitating
That kind of organizational limbo has downstream effects. Roles remain unfilled. Strategic growth initiatives lose steam. And execution suffers as teams operate with missing puzzle pieces.
Companies that Scale Successfully Use Frameworks for Clarity and Action
Closing the confidence-to-action gap starts with a simple question: Is your current structure designed to support what comes next? Forward-thinking brands aren’t waiting to find out. They’re leveraging talent strategy as a growth driver by actively mapping hiring roadmaps, assessing internal readiness, and aligning their leadership teams on areas lacking clarity.
ForceBrands’ Rocketship Program™ is an example of a strategy mapping tool created specifically for this moment. It’s a strategic workforce planning framework that helps growth-oriented companies turn uncertainty into action by identifying key roles, defining success profiles, and building an activation-ready plan to advance talent.
Reignite Momentum Through Improved Alignment & Direction
If you’re confident in your team, but decisions are still on pause, the data is clear: something deeper is missing. Alignment. Definition. A shared view of what the business needs next and who will get it there.
Use the pause wisely. Reexamine your assumptions. Pressure-test your structure. And act before momentum slips away.
Download the 2025 State of the Consumer Brands Industry Report to understand how clarity and action can unlock your next stage of growth.