One of my coachees began describing his typical day. For context, he is a business owner, someone carrying significant responsibility. In reality, his working day does not end when he leaves the office; it follows him home and often overlaps with family time.
During one of our sessions, he said:
“I have no idea why everyone, literally everyone in the company, comes directly to me with questions. It ranges from the most mundane issues to the more complex ones. My phone and inbox are constantly flooded with requests, many of which people could handle themselves.”
When I hear something like this, I know there is always another side to the story. In most cases, it comes down to one of two things. Either there are not enough leaders within the organisation who are willing or empowered to take ownership and accountability, or the executive or owner has fallen into a pattern of micromanaging and control, creating an environment where people feel they must seek approval for everything.
More often than not, there is also a lack of awareness about why this dynamic has developed in the first place.
So, let’s explore both of these scenarios.
The case for nurturing leaders
When I mention leaders, people often form the wrong picture. They tend to imagine someone senior, someone with a title, positioned high up in the hierarchy. That assumption alone explains why so many decisions stall within organisations today. People instinctively look upwards, waiting for approval from the highest authority, rather than stepping forward themselves. In many ways, organisations have conditioned this imbalance over time.
Leadership, however, should not be confined to titles or seniority. It is a behaviour, not a position. A leader can, and should, exist at every level of the organisation. When people are supported, trusted, and given clarity through principles and company values, they are more than capable of making sound decisions independently. They do not need constant oversight; they need direction and belief.
The problem begins when even a small amount of confusion or micromanagement enters the system. That is all it takes. Unclear expectations, inconsistent signals, or a tendency to override decisions will quickly train people to stop thinking for themselves. Before long, every minor issue is escalated, and the organisation becomes dependent on a single point of authority.
What I find particularly baffling is that some executives and business owners actually enjoy this dynamic. There is a certain sense of power in being the centre of all decisions, in being needed at every turn. It can create an atmosphere of control, sometimes even fear. However, this is a fragile construct. The moment ego becomes part of the equation, the system is already at risk of collapsing under its own weight.
No individual can make every decision. It is an illusion, and a costly one at that. Not only does it exhaust the leader, but it also limits the organisation’s ability to grow, adapt, and respond effectively. Strong organisations are not built around one decision-maker; they are built by developing many.
When you invest in building leaders across the organisation, everything changes. Decision-making becomes distributed, ownership increases, and people begin to operate with confidence rather than hesitation. They are able to do the job they were brought in to do. In the end, it creates a healthier environment for everyone, including the person at the top.
The need to micromanage
To be very blunt, I believe it is the executive’s responsibility to reflect on why they feel the need to micromanage before criticising people for seeking approval on every task or decision. These behaviours do not appear in isolation; they are often a direct response to the environment that has been created.
On a more human level, I do sympathise. The need for control is rarely arbitrary. It is usually rooted in fear, and often in very real experiences. Some leaders have witnessed serious mistakes or the consequences of poor decisions, and those moments stay with them. Over time, this can turn into a desire to prevent even the smallest inconvenience or risk from occurring again.
The difficulty is that this level of control is neither sustainable nor effective. It is true that, in some cases, an executive may make a better decision than someone on their team. Experience and perspective do matter. However, constantly stepping in, intervening, and trying to manage every detail only creates confusion and slows everything down. Instead of preventing problems, it often entangles them further.
The need to raise awareness
Having started this piece from the executive’s perspective, I would also like to briefly share how I approached resolving this situation, as it directly connects to the ACE model I have designed, which applies across organisations while remaining adaptable to each individual.
The process began by introducing the right questions in a way that encouraged awareness rather than defensiveness, helping the person recognise not only their own experience, but also the impact their behaviour was having on the wider environment, because this was never just about feeling overwhelmed. It quickly became clear that people in the organisation felt an unspoken expectation to report on everything and seek approval for most decisions, which had created hesitation and dependency. What stood out was that this individual was not consciously aware of how their need for micromanaging was shaping this dynamic.
This is why the approach needs to be handled carefully, without blame, and with a focus on building awareness first, followed by action that supports meaningful change. In many cases, these patterns are not intentional, but unconscious, and yet they can create confusion, reduce confidence, and lead to employees second-guessing themselves, reinforcing the very cycle that needs to be broken.
As for this case, and with every other, really, the issues don’t untangle right away, but when the first step to raising awareness is brought, it changes the game, and I assure you that feeling of being hijacked by requests starts and ends with you. And I can help you do something about it.