Trust as a Strategy in Marketing Ops
Using Trust in Approvals as A Strategic Edge (with Calculated Risks)
Approvals can feel like a black hole—swallowing time, energy, and momentum.
Even when everything else is perfectly aligned—strategy, creative, technology1, and execution—the approval process can grind everything to a halt, destroying your time to market.
Little’s Law—a theorem in queuing theory (stick with me)—says that you should improve the slowest step in a process before anything else.
You’ll get the greatest throughput gains from fixing the slowest part of your process first instead of doing a bunch of tiny fixes of lesser problems.
It’s a frustrating reality for many teams, but there’s a way to break free from this cycle: trust.
When used properly, trust becomes a powerful accelerator, transforming approvals from a bottleneck into a seamless, efficient process.
However, trust isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution—it’s a calculated risk.
To make it work, you need to trust the right people. Let’s explore the positives of leveraging trust in marketing ops approvals, the risks you accept, and how to navigate both effectively.
The Black Hole of Marketing Ops Approvals
Imagine your team has nailed the campaign plan, the assets are ready, and the tech is in place.
Yet, the launch date keeps being pushed because the approval process is stuck in a maze of sign-offs, revisions, and delays.
Who can escape this Kafkaesque maze?
This isn’t just inefficiency—it’s a competitive disadvantage. Speed to market matters a lot!
Every day lost to approvals can mean missed opportunities, frustrated teams, and eroded momentum. You can’t run a tax return ad after tax deadlines!
The root cause? Often, it’s a lack of trust, leading to excessive checks and redundancies that slow everything down.
The solution lies in rethinking how trust can streamline this critical step.
The Positives of Trust in Approvals
Trust isn’t just a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage that can revolutionize your approval process.
When you trust the right people, you unlock a range of benefits that directly address the black-hole problem:
Faster Approvals: Trust eliminates unnecessary layers of review. When you’re confident in the judgment and abilities of your team or stakeholders, you can skip the endless back-and-forth, getting campaigns to market quicker.
Increased Efficiency: Trust enables delegation. Instead of micromanaging every decision, leaders (thoughtfully) pick team members to approve elements autonomously, keeping the process flowing without bottlenecks.
Improved Collaboration: A trust-based environment fosters teamwork. When people feel trusted, they’re more likely to communicate openly, align on goals, and work together seamlessly.
Innovation: Trust encourages calculated risk-taking. Team members who feel supported are more likely to propose bold ideas or solutions, potentially elevating the campaign’s impact.
These positives can turn approvals into a strength rather than a liability—but only if trust is placed wisely.
Picking the right people is the linchpin that makes this strategy work.
People are not fungible!!!
The Risks You Accept with Trust
Trust is a double-edged sword. While it can speed things up, it also introduces vulnerabilities that can derail your efforts if not managed carefully.
Here are the key risks you accept when relying on trust in marketing ops approvals:
Misplaced Trust: Trusting the wrong person can lead to errors, oversights, or poor decisions. A single misstep—like approving a flawed asset—could delay the campaign or damage its quality.
Lack of Accountability: Too much trust without oversight can create complacency. If individuals know they won’t be closely monitored, they might slack off or miss critical details.
Over-Reliance: Leaning heavily on one trusted individual risks creating a single point of failure. If that person is unavailable or underperforms, the approval process could stall entirely.
Bias and Favoritism: Trust can be skewed by personal relationships or unconscious biases, leading to unfair decisions or overlooking better-qualified contributors.
These risks don’t mean trust is a bad idea—they just mean it needs guardrails. The goal is to harness trust’s benefits while minimizing its downsides.
Navigating Trust in Marketing
To make trust a strategic advantage without falling into its pitfalls, you need a balanced approach. Here’s how to trust the right people and protect your process:
Define Trust Criteria: Base trust on evidence, not assumptions. Look for a proven track record, relevant expertise, and consistent reliability in those you empower with approval authority.
Start Small: Test trust gradually. Begin with low-stakes approvals and expand responsibilities as individuals demonstrate their capability. Speed to trust is not the same as speed to market.
Maintain Oversight: Trust doesn’t mean abandoning checks entirely. Regular, lightweight reviews can ensure things stay on track without slowing down the process.
Set Clear Expectations: Communicate roles, deadlines, and standards upfront. Clarity ensures everyone knows what’s at stake and what’s required.
Track Progress: Use tools like project management platforms (e.g., Asana, Trello) to maintain visibility into approvals without micromanaging.
By pairing trust with these safeguards, you create a system that’s fast, flexible, and resilient.
Conclusion
Trust, when directed at the right people, can speed up your bottlenecks.
The positives—faster approvals, greater efficiency, better collaboration, and room for innovation—can propel your campaigns forward.
But the risks—misplaced trust, accountability gaps, over-reliance, and bias—remind us that trust should not be given freely.
By choosing trustworthy individuals and balancing freedom with smart oversight, you can outsmart the delays and unlock your team’s full potential.
Trust isn’t just a shortcut—it’s a competitive edge that gets you to market faster—and makes your team happier.
Rare, for sure