257. The Art of Messiness

16 snips

Dec 9, 2025

Leaders often cling to data, but real decision-making thrives on instinct and courage. Fear of failure can lead to over-analysis, stalling critical choices. Statistical predictions frequently overlook context, obscuring common sense. Great leadership is more about art than science, and reliance on data can mislead. Rather than hiding behind numbers, embracing messiness and direct problem-solving fosters accountability and clarity. Ultimately, combining intuition with data enhances effective leadership.

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INSIGHT

Common Sense Trumps Data In Decisions

Business decisions rely far more on common sense and human interaction than on data alone.
Patrick Lencioni says real executive decisions usually come down to instinct and the people in the room.

INSIGHT

Certainty Addiction Slows Leadership

People chase certainty to avoid blame, which slows decisions and increases risk.
Patrick Lencioni explains leaders prefer certainty over clarity and delay choices to feel covered.

ADVICE

Make Space To Fail Intentionally

Encourage deliberate small experiments that may fail to build learning and courage.
Cody Thompson suggests doing things you expect to fail so teams learn more quickly.

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Do you sometimes over-rely on data to cover yourself instead of trusting your judgment?

Episode 257 of At The Table explores why leaders often cling to data, certainty, and predictability—even though business is inherently messy. Pat and Cody discuss how fear of failure drives over-analysis, slowing decisions and weakening judgment. Ultimately, they argue that great leadership is an art fueled by instinct, courage, and human interaction—not algorithms or metrics.

Topics explored in this episode:

(03:15) Data vs. Instinct in Real Business

* Why instinct and common sense dominate real executive decision-making.

* The human tendency to return to predictability even when it repeatedly fails.

(06:29) When Data Misleads and Context Matters

* How statistical predictions often fail to capture real-life variables.

* How leaders hide behind numbers to avoid personal responsibility.

(09:13) The Power of Seeing the Problem Directly

* How over-reliance on data can obscure common sense and slow down problem-solving.

(11:40) Business as Art, Not Science

* The modern trend toward treating business as a purely scientific discipline.

* Why instinct and integrative thinking will never be replaced by either data or AI.

This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: https://www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.

At The Table is a podcast that lives at the connection between work life, leadership, organizational health, and culture. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4hJKKSL), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6NWAZzkzl4ljxX7S2xkHvu), and YouTube (https://bit.ly/At-The-Table-YouTube).

Follow Pat Lencioni on https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth, http://www.youtube.com/@PatrickLencioniOfficial, and https://x.com/patricklencioni.

Be sure to check out our other podcast, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/4iNz6Yn), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/3raC053GF5mtkq6Y1klpRU), and YouTube (https://bit.ly/Working-Genius-YouTube).

Let us know your feedback via podcast@tablegroup.com.

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co.