Do you want to be the person that loses the company some amount $x, comparable to your yearly salary, when you make a mistake? Or are you willing to lose the company 100($x) for making the wrong decision, be fired for it, and have your entire team looking for jobs?
I tend to think of it as "how much of the buck are you expected to stop?"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_passing for non-US HNers)