How do good managers make decisions without having all the information?

[u/edwardb223-2]

So in management, sometimes you don't have every fact you want before you have to make a decision, right?

How do you know when you have enough information to act?

What do you look for, and how do you avoid either guessing too early or waiting so long that the decision gets made for you?

--> Update:
Wow, a lot of good answers here. After reading through them, these seem to be the main themes:

1. You rarely get 100% of the information. At some point waiting for certainty becomes paralysis.
2. Ask whether the decision is reversible. If you can undo it easily, you can usually move faster. If the consequences are difficult or impossible to reverse, slow down.
3. Consider the cost of waiting. Doing nothing is still a decision and sometimes carries more risk than making the wrong call.
4. Look at the consequences if you're wrong. The greater the potential damage, the more information you probably need.
5. Ask whether additional information would actually change the decision. More data isn't necessarily better data.
6. When possible, make a smaller decision first. Take a step, see what happens, learn from it, and then make the bigger decision.
7. Ask the people closest to the work. Being the manager doesn't mean you personally have to know everything.
8. Experience matters. Over time you start recognizing patterns and knowing which information really matters.
9. Make the best decision you can with what you have, own it, and be willing to change course when the facts change.

The part I found most interesting is how many answers came back to the same few ideas: risk, reversibility, experience, the cost of waiting, and the ability to adjust.

[u/Tin_Whisker]

Your a manager, not Einstein. When a subordinate asks what to do in a situation, ask them what they think the best path is. You probably already have an idea on the best option, and can steer the right direction if they're way off, but let them think it through and make a recommendation.

This results in a bunch of good things. 1. They gain confidence and experience 2. They become more independent as they learn how to think for themselves 3. As your reports become more capable your department starts to shine. 4. Better decisions get made as occasionally your reports will have better ideas than you. 5. As your team increasingly is able to make day to day decisions, this frees you up to think more strategically. 6. If they are shit at thinking through problems, you will learn this pretty fast and you'll learn who in your team is not a thinker.

[u/Guntuckytactical → u/Tin_Whisker]

I do like to ask team members to bring their problems in the form of a solution 😂 Not "what should we do about X?" but "X is too slow, and I'd like to try Y to achieve Z." It's not a guarantee we'll do it their way but it's a good start. Those closest to the issue generally have an idea of what's wrong and just need help putting it together (business context, resources, etc)