When everyone wants to decide everything, nothing moves

In many organizations, roles and responsibilities are defined on paper… but their day-to-day application stays blurry. Sometimes a business profile gets involved in technical decisions, or a technical expert contributes to business thinking.

An asset that can go wrong

This interdisciplinary collaboration can be very fruitful. But when role boundaries aren’t clear, the trouble begins:

• discussions that drag on without moving decisions forward;
• gray areas about “who ultimately decides”;
• frustration from a sense of overstepping;
• sometimes interpersonal tensions that leave a mark.

The real issue: a clear framework

The problem isn’t the willingness to contribute. It’s the absence of a framework. The leader’s role then becomes essential: clarifying who contributes, who recommends and who decides, and creating a space where everyone can speak without ambiguity.

Effective collaboration rests not only on expertise, but also on a shared understanding of roles. And often, it’s these subtle adjustments that make all the difference.