Having more autonomy is a big draw for many who step into leadership roles. It was something I looked forward to myself. Until this point, we’ve likely been on the receiving end of decisions rather than an active part. Lured by the chance to have a bigger impact, we relish the opportunity to have more autonomy in decision-making. What we discover is that we often have much less than we think.
As we move into leadership our work becomes more organizational. Even though we might be responsible for an area, we can’t make decisions in isolation. A decision about one part of the company affects other areas which means we must share land with other leaders. This decreases our ability to make choices in isolation and increases the need for collaboration. When I stepped into a bigger organizational capacity, I was surprised by how much shared land influences decisions.
I also learned that decision-making is surprisingly complex — far more than it seems from the outside. Sometimes we may not be in the room where a decision gets made, even if it impacts our work. There are a host of factors for why — perceptions of who needs to be involved, legal issues, and a lack of understanding of the surface area of a decision. Sometimes the decision isn’t even made by the most senior leaders but comes from the board.
It can be confusing not to have a say in organizational decisions, especially when it affects something you carry responsibility for. Just as difficult? Having to publicly support a decision even when you weren’t part of it and especially when you don’t agree.
We can ask to be a part of those decisions but inevitably, some will be made and you will be informed rather than an active participant. This is the way of complex organisms. We must accept the inevitability that we won’t be always in the room when a decision is made or that a choice that’s right for the org may have a negative impact on our team. Taking responsibility without always having full autonomy is a tricky part of the role we must come to accept.
P.S. I’ve been humming that song from Hamilton all week. Sorry if you are now too.
PODCAST EPISODE OF THE WEEK
This week’s mini essay coincides with my conversation with Sonal Mehta, Director of Engineering at Intuit Mailchimp about navigating the director sandwich as I like to call it. The leap to director is often bigger than we imagine. We find ourselves with more responsibility and working at the organizational layer but also having to make sure the people doing the work are aligned. This can be challenging. Sonal and I talked about how the role was different than she expected especially around autonomy, managing expectations, the role of trusted advisors and so much more.
If you’ve just taken on a bigger organizational role or support those who do, tune into episode 13 of Leaders Unscripted. Sonal offers so much useful wisdom that you don’t want to miss.
Here are two small snippets from our conversation.
You can read my conversation with Sonal here.
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