How I stopped taking accountability for decisions I didn't make
This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot.
In a lot of teams, especially startups, someone can be responsible for an outcome without having much control over the decisions that shape it.
You’re expected to make the result happen.
But strategy, pricing, priorities, positioning, or even the direction itself may be decided somewhere else.
Then when things don’t work, responsibility still flows back to the person closest to execution.
I think that creates a weird gap:
Accountability without enough authority.
I’m not saying everyone needs full control.
But if someone owns an outcome, they probably need enough decision-making power to actually influence it.
Otherwise they’re accountable for results they can only partially control.
I’m curious how others handle this.
Where do you think the line should be between accountability and decision-making power?
Drawing that line between being a supportive teammate and taking the fall for someone else's poor call is really tricky, especially when dealing with clients or co-founders. How do you handle the conversation when a stakeholder tries to push the fallout back onto you? Do you rely on written agreements upfront, or is it mostly about setting verbal boundaries as issues pop up?
This resonates a lot — how long did it take before you saw any real signal on it?