When everything seems predetermined

“Actually, the decision has already been made.” The executive said this right at the start of our conversation.
It was about a change within the company. The direction had been set. Now it was time to implement it.

The longer we talked, the clearer a familiar feeling became: the situation seemed to be shaped almost entirely by others. The important decisions had already been made. The scope for action felt surprisingly limited.

I encounter situations like this regularly — not only in change processes, but also when strategic decisions are made, new requirements arise, or circumstances become challenging.

In such moments, our attention often shifts almost automatically to what we cannot influence. That is understandable. At the same time, it has an effect: energy moves outward. And with it, part of our own effectiveness can disappear.

This is not about sugarcoating reality. Nor is it about turning every situation into an opportunity. Some decisions are difficult. Some changes come at an inconvenient time. Some circumstances simply cannot be changed.

The question is different: What does this mean for my role? Even in situations that seem largely predetermined, there is still room to shape how we act. How do I talk about this — with my team, with colleagues, with senior stakeholders? What am I responsible for? And where is it worth exerting influence?

At that point, something often begins to move. The situation may be the same. The circumstances may be the same. And yet there is more clarity. Not because everything has suddenly become possible, but because the perspective has shifted — away from “Why is it like this?” and toward “What am I going to do with this now?”

Perhaps this is one of the less spectacular, but very real, aspects of leadership: we cannot always choose the situation in which we act. But we can influence how we respond to it.