I am working with two senior leadership teams right now that are dealing with different business challenges but encountering the same issue. Each has added new executives and is moving with a sense of urgency, yet there is confusion about who is responsible for what. The people involved are highly skilled and committed.
What is missing is a shared understanding of responsibilities, ownership, and decision authority.
I have seen this at every level of an organization. When something does not get done, leaders naturally begin asking questions about communication, trust, or accountability. Those may be legitimate concerns, but I have learned to look at something more fundamental first: Did we establish clear enough expectations for everyone to know what they are accountable for and what success looks like?
For any important project, priority, or area of responsibility, the person leading the work should understand the result required and how it will be measured. They also need to know what resources are available and which decisions they are authorized to make.
Decision authority deserves particular attention because being responsible for a result does not necessarily mean having complete freedom to act.
A leader may be accountable for an initiative but not know which decisions can be made independently or when others need to be involved. Several colleagues may have valuable expertise and deserve a voice, but that does not mean everyone has a vote. At some point, the team needs to know who makes the final call.
When those boundaries are uncertain, one person may assume a colleague is handling the work while that colleague believes it belongs to someone else. In other situations, two people believe they are responsible and begin stepping on each other’s toes. Projects slow down, commitments are missed, and what began as a structural issue can eventually damage relationships and trust.
I recently heard a phrase that I liked: “Micromanage outcomes, not people or processes.”
Be extremely clear about what must be accomplished and the standards that define success. Then give someone with the appropriate skills and experience the autonomy to determine the best way to get there.
I often hear CEOs say they are reluctant to give someone that much freedom because they are concerned the person will not get it right. Sometimes there is a valid capability issue that needs to be addressed. But there is also an important distinction between someone getting the right result and doing the work exactly the way the CEO would have done it. When leaders delegate responsibility and then add new instructions or change the expectations, they begin taking the work back. That undermines the autonomy they intended to give and frustrates the employee.
When accountability begins to break down, the first question should not be who failed to step up.
Leaders should first examine whether people understood what was expected of them and had the authority and autonomy to deliver the result. You cannot reasonably expect accountability until you have created the clarity that makes it possible.
Organizations are expecting more from the people they bring in to speak.
A strong keynote still matters. But leaders are also looking for practical tools, planning support, useful takeaways, and someone who understands the pressure behind the event.
John Spence was named the 2026 Thinkers360 Thought Leader of the Year. He does not just walk on stage, deliver a keynote, and leave. He works with you as a trusted partner from the first planning conversation through the final follow-up.
