There is a particular kind of responsibility that can be especially exhausting: being expected to deliver results without having enough authority to make the decisions needed to achieve them.
Imagine you are leading a team and have been given the task of completing an important project within a specific deadline. However, you cannot decide who will work on the project, you have no control over the budget, and every significant change requires someone else’s approval. Time passes, responses are delayed, circumstances change, yet expectations remain the same.
And as the deadline approaches, the question you are most likely to hear is: “Why hasn’t the work been completed yet?”
Perhaps you have found yourself in a similar situation. You try to find solutions, speak with people, send reminders, and take on additional responsibilities to compensate for things that are not actually within your control.
At first, you believe that with a little more effort, you will manage to make everything work. Over time, however, you begin to notice that your work is becoming increasingly draining. Perhaps your shoulders are constantly tense, your breathing becomes shallower whenever a new message arrives, and even after the working day ends, you find it difficult to relax. Your mind keeps returning to everything that remains unfinished.
Sometimes our bodies begin to show us just how much a situation is affecting us long before we acknowledge that the way we are working is no longer sustainable.
The problem is not always how much responsibility we carry, but how much influence we actually have over the things we are responsible for.
Responsibility is an essential part of leadership, but without the necessary authority and support, it can easily become a source of constant pressure. The person leading the work begins to feel responsible even for things beyond their control, while those making the key decisions may not realise how much their way of working makes it harder to achieve results.
That is why, when we give someone responsibility, it is equally important to discuss what they actually need to succeed. Which decisions can they make independently? What resources are available to them? Who can they turn to for support? What should they do when they encounter an obstacle they cannot resolve on their own?
These are not merely organisational questions. They directly affect trust, the sense of security, and how people perceive their roles.
If you are the person expected to deliver results, perhaps it is time to stop seeing every setback as a personal failure. Sometimes more effort is needed, but sometimes what is really needed is an honest conversation about what is expected of you and what you have actually been given the authority and resources to achieve.
A good leader does not need to control every decision, but they do need enough room to turn the responsibility they have taken on into meaningful action.
It is not enough to tell someone, “I trust you,” if, at the same time, we do not allow them to make decisions.
