Some Leadership Pressures Never Cease.

Pressure that persists is not a failure, trying to eliminate it often is.

Some leadership pressures never cease.

That is not a failure, trying to eliminate them all is.

If you carry final responsibility, you already know this feeling.

The decisions keep coming.

The exposure doesn’t ease.

And even when things are broadly “working”, the pressure doesn’t lift in the way people assume it should.

This isn’t the pressure of being busy.

It’s the pressure of being the one who holds it.

The cost most people don’t see

As authority increases, pressure doesn’t distribute.  It intensifies.

You become the place where uncertainty lands. Where trade-offs settle. Where consequences stop moving and start belonging to someone.

You’re expected to be calm while carrying decisions that affect livelihoods, futures, reputations. You’re expected to move without drama, to absorb complexity without transmitting it, to decide without rehearsing the weight out loud.

Over time, this creates a quiet distortion.

Not a failure of competence.

A narrowing of space.

Decisions feel heavier than they used to. Conversations take more energy. The margin for error feels thinner, even when performance is strong.

Most leaders assume this means something is off. That the pressure should have eased by now. That authority was meant to bring relief.

It rarely does.

The resistance that usually follows

At this point, many senior leaders subconsciously create distance or a distraction.

To reduce the uncomfortably familiar feeling that the pressure hasn’t yet eased. Reflection or going deeper in, sounds like something to do later, when there is more time and things settle.

But this moment isn’t coming, unless leaders can change perspective. It’s time to notice what is already shaping your judgement.

Authority always comes with a cost.

The question is whether that cost is being carried consciously or unconsciously.

And whether you have let go of the resistance and developed healthy ways to see it, hold and process it.

So what is actually going on here?

As CEOs or Board leaders, you know this pattern, you’ve felt it, and seen it in your teams. I’ve lived it myself and see this repeatedly.

As authority concentrates, leaders start doing more internal work on behalf of the system. They hold uncertainty so others don’t have to. They absorb risk so momentum can continue. They simplify what they say, not because reality is simple, but because the system needs it.

This is part of the role.

But when the cost of authority isn’t acknowledged, something subtle happens. Leaders begin to protect themselves from the weight they’re carrying. Not dramatically. Quietly.

A difficult decision is delayed, just long enough to see if conditions change. A concern is softened to avoid further destabilising the system. A compromise is framed as prudence when it’s actually fatigue.

From the outside, nothing looks wrong.

Inside, judgement is being shaped by pressure that has nowhere to go.

Authority doesn’t just grant permission to decide. It changes the conditions under which decisions are made.

The pressure that comes with authority is not a sign of failure; it is the price of being the final reference point.

What this insight offers you

The initial gain here is relief. Not because the pressure disappears, but because it no longer needs to be misinterpreted.

When leaders stop treating sustained pressure as a problem to fix, they regain space. Judgement steadies. Decisions become cleaner and easier to hold, even when they are hard.

The important gain is clarity. Not about outcomes, but about what needs to be held and what doesn’t. That distinction alone often changes the quality of conversations and how choices are made.

A reflection

If authority naturally intensifies pressure, what becomes possible when you stop resisting that and start carrying it deliberately and skilfully?

A short practice

Before your next consequential decision or conversation, pause for a minute.

Notice how and where you’re holding the weight of responsibility. Tightness, urgency, bracing?

Don’t try to resolve it, just witness it. Acknowledge: this is the reality of authority.

Then ask quietly:

“What would wise judgement look like if I didn’t need this pressure to go away first?”

“How would it feel different?”

Pressure that persists is not a failure, trying to eliminate it often is.

Often, it means the responsibility is real.

May you always find wise judgement when certainty is unfindable and the pressure remains.