In a one-on-one recently, a client paused mid-sentence and said:

“Why is everyone looking at me for this?”

He wasn’t angry.
He was confused.

His team kept escalating decisions to him. Projects stalled unless he weighed in. Meetings ended with everyone turning toward him for direction.

On paper, he wasn’t supposed to own all of it. But in practice, he did.

As we unpacked it, the issue wasn’t motivation. It wasn’t capability.

It was clarity.

There were no clearly defined roles around the initiative. No shared agreement on who owned the outcome. No clear picture of what “done well” actually meant.

So when uncertainty showed up, the team looked to him.

We didn’t solve it by working harder. We solved it by slowing down.

• What are the actual goals here?

• What roles need to exist to accomplish them?

• What does success look like — specifically?

Within minutes, his frustration shifted into clarity.

Accountability isn’t about pressure. It’s about definition.

Reflection:
Where might unclear ownership be quietly creating tension — or exhaustion — in your work right now?