“We’re All Feeling the Pressure” Is Not Leadership

“We’re all feeling the pressure.”

It’s usually said calmly.
Almost sympathetically.

And it’s meant to make the conversation stop.

Shared Stress as a Shield

The phrase appears when someone raises a concern.

Too much work.
Unclear priorities.
Deadlines that keep tightening.

Instead of addressing the issue, leadership widens it.

If everyone is struggling, then no one is responsible.

The False Equality

Yes, everyone may be under pressure.

But not everyone carries the same consequences.

Some people get to decide.
Some people absorb the fallout.

Lumping all stress together erases power differences — and protects the people with the most control.

Empathy Without Action

This phrase sounds empathetic.

But empathy without change is just acknowledgment.

Nothing shifts.
No priorities are adjusted.
No support is added.

You’re understood — but still expected to cope.

The Quiet Expectation

The unspoken message is simple:

If everyone’s under pressure, then struggling is normal.

And if it’s normal, you shouldn’t question it.

So you stop raising issues.
You stop asking for help.
You tell yourself it’s just part of the job.

When It Becomes Permanent

Pressure stops being situational and starts being cultural.

There’s always a reason.
Always a deadline.
Always an emergency.

And the phrase keeps being reused, as if repetition turns it into a solution.

The Reframe

Real leadership doesn’t equalise stress.

It reduces it where possible.

It acknowledges imbalance.
It adjusts scope.
It makes trade-offs visible.

Saying “we’re all feeling the pressure” might sound fair.

But when it replaces action, it’s not leadership.

It’s abdication.