Authority Without Losing Control

Assigning responsibility does not mean a decision has truly moved. In this episode of Mind to Impact, Bill O’Connor examines why recurring decisions continue to return to the practice owner even after someone else has been given responsibility for them. The problem is often not competence or initiative. It is that the person responsible has never been given a clear boundary for independent judgment. Using scheduling as a practical example, Bill explains how to define what a team member can decide, what limits should guide the decision, and what circumstances genuinely require escalation. The goal is not to give up control. It is to move control from repeated personal approval into a structure that allows the team to act while keeping the owner appropriately informed.