Delegation - Publications - Faculty & Research

Research Summary

The Evolution of Corporate Structure, Internal Governance, and Leadership

My research documents the evolution of the internal governance of senior management in large US firms over a 20-year period and explores, via multiple methods, the causes and consequences of these changes. My findings suggest that... View Details

04 Jan 2017
What Do You Think?

How Much Bureaucracy is a Good Thing in Government and Business?

who have veto power over ideas, good or bad. Authority is delegated along with responsibility. Everyone acts in the best interests of the organization, assuming knowledge of the objectives and acceptable ways of achieving them. Permission... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

its leaders distribute authority and delegate decision-making. Too often, leaders only communicate how digital transformation will improve the company’s performance. Instead, they must develop a narrative—a human-centric story—for how... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

10 May 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Flattened Firm—Not as Advertised

Keywords: by Julie Wulf

17 Jan 2020
In Practice

6 Traits That Set Top Business Leaders Apart

delegate responsibility for designing and implementing plans to achieve those ends to the maximum degree possible." Joseph B. Fuller (@JosephBFuller), professor of management practice and co-leader of the HBS Managing the Future of Work... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

31 Oct 2018
What Do You Think?

What is the Function of Fear in Leadership?

leader’s role should involve reducing fear among associates to a minimum. Beatriz commented that, “quite often, team members paralyze due to fear and start delegating upward New KPIs, action plans, and strategies that don’t decipher the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

11 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups

so much easier to make all these slight improvements, A/B testing also allows the firm to free up the time it would have spent tinkering with the small stuff, which it now delegates to the A/B testing tool,” he says. “The founders can now... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

05 Jul 2012
What Do You Think?

Why Is Trust So Hard to Achieve in Management?

which leaders are viewed by their followers. It's important to understand why this is the case, given the economic benefits that trust may impart to an organization. These include` higher morale, increased loyalty to the organization, more View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

30 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Six Steps for Making Your Threat Credible

outsource at the right price. 4. Delegate authority to someone who will follow through on the threat The time, energy, and resources that you devote to reaching agreement can suggest that you're desperate for a deal—any deal. The greater... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra

22 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Why Salespeople Struggle at Leading

the work of winning deals on their own. By letting go of micromanaging every transaction, a manager’s time is freed up to immerse themselves in other duties, like developing a staff they can delegate more responsibility to and making... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

cultural norms, [as] in Japan. Empowering leadership is relatively new, and stresses delegation of responsibility to subordinates. American companies that operate with largely autonomous divisions employ this style of leadership. A few... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

18 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

What Your Non-Binary Employees Need to Do Their Best Work

certain strategies that people have begun to be aware of that increase inclusion for women—such as being conscious of not interrupting and refraining from disproportionately delegating support tasks to them—could also help non-binary... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Looking in the Mirror: Questions Every Leader Must Ask

analyze how it is being spent. If substantial time allocations do not match top priorities, he discusses how these tasks should be either delegated or eliminated. "When someone asks you to spend time on work that doesn't match your... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

07 Jul 2011
What Do You Think?

So We Adapt. What’s the Downside?

levels, including that of the individual. We adapt by listening to and heeding customers. We adapt by delegating authority, often to teams operating at the lowest levels of the organization. We adapt by tracking, responding to, and even... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Decision Rights: Who Gives the Green Light?

late William H. Meckling note these issues: The cost of delegating decision rights to those who have the relevant information but whose motivations and goals don't align with those of the company. The cost of accurately transferring the... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

New Business magazine, and talked about the legal issues commonly faced by entrepreneurs, as well as her thoughts on how to successfully deal with them. In Bagley's view, there is a tendency on the part of many entrepreneurs to think that the lawyers can handle the... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

there are legal dimensions to business and they, like the financial or IT functions, need to be managed. They are too important to delegate to persons, i.e., lawyers, who may not understand the broader business objectives. Second, the law... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Creating Value in Your Business Ecosystem

ecosystem. It charges users only a moderate fee to coordinate their trading activities. Incentives such as the PowerSeller label reinforce standards for sellers that benefit the entire ecosystem. These performance standards also delegate... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

09 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Marketing a Country: Promotion as a Tool for Attracting Foreign Investment.

approach is for the government to delegate the management of investment promotion activities to the private sector. This approach often has the disadvantage that the private sector will not handle well the attributes of the task that are... View Details

Keywords: by Louis T. Wells & Alvin G. Wint

08 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Seven Negotiation Lessons from Amazon's HQ Disaster in Queens

headquarters were built, much of New York’s congressional delegation could be counted on for political support . . . in addition to that from Washington State and elected officials from its other new headquarters in Virginia. Apart from... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius; Real Estate; Construction

Publications