Your manager tossed some very important responsibilities your way, but also tossed you into a classical no-win morass. When you do not make decisions, you look weak and rather useless to the managers. At the same time, if you do take action, you incur the wrath of your own manager.
Your manager’s delegation skills are questionable to say the least. He actually has delegated neither responsibility nor authority to you. It actually sounds like your role in this project is to gather data, test the waters, and then provide your manager with information on the manager’s comments, needs, and reactions. At that point, he makes the decisions.
One option is for you to continue in your present role by viewing yourself as a facilitator and conduit, and by letting others know where the decision-making actually rests. If you are not comfortable with such a role, a second option is to meet with your manager and let him know what you would like to do. He sounds like a very controlling individual, but if you can let him see the advantages of providing you with more authority, perhaps he will turn some of the controls over to you.
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