Traction Heroes Ep. 43: Subsidiarity

How do you delegate authority while maintaining coherence? That was the question at the core of Traction Heroes episode 43. It’s especially tricky in large organizations. Leaders can go about it one of two ways: top-down and bottom-up. The first is tricky, since there’s only so much leaders can do. The larger the org, the more likely they’ll lose touch with conditions on the ground. Bottom-up is preferable, but that’s where you risk incoherence. If everyone can do whatever they want, the org can drift. That’s where principles help. A strong set can help organizations remain coherent while delegating decision-making. Leadership maintains the culture that allows the organization to accomplish its mission over time while pushing decisions to the levels closest to the work. It’s a principle I learned from Catholic social teaching called subsidiarity. The father-and-son team of Charles and Chase Koch published a book earlier this year called Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader that explains…