What actually works when you're making every decision alone

The text came through at 11.47pm on a Tuesday.

“Just got off a call with the CEO. He wants to change our entire affiliate strategy. I’ve got 72 hours to come up with a plan. Do you have time to talk tomorrow?”

The response came back in three minutes.

“9am my time work? I had to do the same thing 18 months ago. Happy to walk you through what worked and what I’d do differently.”

By 9.15am the next morning, the CMO had a framework. By Thursday, he had a plan his CEO approved. By the end of the quarter, it had added six figures in revenue.

Not because he suddenly came up with a great idea, but because he didn’t try to figure it out alone.

The problem everyone accepts

If you’re a senior executive in igaming, you already know how this works. The higher you go, the fewer people understand your problems. Your team needs you to be confident. Your board lacks operational context. Your competitors aren’t taking your calls.

So, you make decisions alone. Strategic bets that should take weeks take months. Opportunities close while you’re still analysing. And nobody notices because, at your level, nobody’s checking.

Most execs accept this as the cost of leadership. The best ones treat it as a solvable problem.

The solution isn’t a coach who’s never run a P&L. It isn’t a three-day leadership programme built on case studies. And it isn’t a consultant billing £300 an hour to tell you what you already know.

It’s peers who’ve already made the decision you’re stuck on. People with no agenda except helping you think clearly and holding you accountable.

Why peers work when everything else falls short

That CMO who got the late-night text? His peer had already made that exact strategic change. Had already dealt with the internal politics and the affiliate relationship fallout. Had already rebuilt the financial model.

He didn’t bill him. Didn’t have anything to prove. Just said: “Here’s what worked. Here’s what I’d do differently. Here’s the one thing that will blow up if you don’t deal with it in the first week.”

That’s worth more than any framework. And it’s worth more than any network.

There’s no shortage of executive networks in igaming. Most are built around introductions, dinners and events. That’s fine if your problem is “I don’t know enough people”. But if your problem is “I’m making a £2m decision and nobody’s challenging my thinking”, a bigger network doesn’t help. A better one does.

Because not all peer groups work. Most are glorified happy hours. Everyone shows off. Nobody’s willing to really open up. The ones that actually deliver have three non-negotiables:

1. Ruthless vetting. If the group has the wrong seniority or the wrong personalities, the entire group breaks. You can’t be open about strategy with someone who’s never run strategy. You can’t admit doubt to someone who’ll use it against you. Small, senior, selective. Not for the sake of it. Because anything else kills the value.
2. Zero competitors. You can’t honestly discuss your affiliate strategy with the CMO from a direct competitor. The best insights come from people in igaming who work in different verticals or markets. Close enough to understand the context. Far enough to have no conflict.
3. Structured accountability. Without it, peer groups become therapy. With it, they become a competitive advantage. “You said you’d make this decision. What’s stopping you?” “That’s the third time you’ve raised this. Solve it or stop talking about it.” Harsh? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

What this looks like in practice

A chief product officer was stuck between two strategic product roadmaps for six months. Split attention. Poor execution on both. No one in her organisation had the authority or incentive to challenge her thinking.

In a 10-minute peer session, someone asked: “If you had to kill one today and couldn’t change your mind for six months, which would you kill?”

She answered immediately. She hadn’t stopped to think that clearly in months. The next week, she killed one roadmap. Consolidated the team. Throughput doubled within two months.

She didn’t need more information. She needed the conviction to decide. And the only people who could give her that were peers who’d been through it themselves.

What we built

This is exactly what we’ve built at The iGaming Leader Mastermind. Peer advisory groups specifically for senior igaming executives, vice-presidents, directors, C-suite, founders. Operators, suppliers, affiliates.

Small groups of four to six people, matched together based on the specific challenges you’re working on. Weekly sessions. Structured accountability. In-person meetups at major industry events. No competitors in the same group. Everyone’s vetted. Everyone’s senior. Everyone signs a double NDA.

We’ve seen decisions that sat unresolved for months get resolved in days. Not because we’re geniuses but because peer accountability is the fastest way to get out of your own head.

The question

How many decisions is your leadership team sitting on right now because nobody’s holding them accountable? How many opportunities are closing while you’re still analysing?

The cost of executive isolation isn’t emotional. It’s mathematical. Every delayed decision, every unchallenged strategy, every plan built alone compounds across your entire P&L.

If you’re a senior executive in igaming making decisions alone, apply to The iGaming Leader Mastermind at www.igamingleader.com

Or experience it first-hand at the EGR Power 50 Summit and EGR Power Affiliates Summit where I’ll be running taster sessions. Come and see how it works before you commit.

Leo Judkins is the founder of The iGaming Leader Mastermind, a vetted peer advisory group where senior igaming executives act as each other’s personal board of directors.