The Work That Has No Owner
Most advice about overload starts with the person carrying it. This one starts with the work, because the work behaves in ways that are consistent, predictable and almost
Structural Overload
Structural Overload
The Default Position
Somebody in your organization holds the things that have no owner, and that somebody is you. Ask when it was decided and the question comes back empty. There
Responsibility Drift
What Happens When the Load-Bearing Person Leaves
Somebody hands in their notice and the reaction in the room is mild. There is a card, a leaving lunch, a short conversation about backfilling the role. Everyone
Responsibility Drift
The Load-Bearing Person
Most people find this out from somewhere else, and usually on a day they were not working. You are on leave, or in a hospital waiting room, or
Responsibility Drift
The Reliability Tax
There is a sentence people say to dependable colleagues that is meant kindly and lands like an invoice: I knew I could count on you. It is true,
Responsibility Drift
Silent Assignment
Somebody raises a problem that belongs to nobody. A recurring report needs running while a colleague is away, or a client is unhappy and no one can say
Foundation
Competence Gravity
Competence Gravity is the pull that routes work toward the most capable person in a system. What it is, how it forms, and how to interrupt it.
Responsibility Drift
When You Stop Being the Place Everything Lands
A few weeks into reversing over-ownership, there’s a moment almost nobody warns you about. It isn’t the moment your plate gets lighter. It’s the moment you stop being
Responsibility Drift
The Two-Week Test for a Boundary That Will Actually Hold
You’ve set boundaries before. That’s not the problem. The problem is that they don’t hold — they get crossed, you restate them, they get crossed again, and somewhere
Responsibility Drift
How to Hand Something Back Without Becoming the Bad Guy
There’s a specific reason you’re still doing work that isn’t yours, and it isn’t that you can’t say no. You’ve said no to plenty of things. It’s that