Research: How to Delegate Decision-Making Strategically

Across our studies, which included 2,478 U.S. participants in a mix of controlled experiments and surveys, we found that delegating decision-making responsibilities, compared with asking employees for advice and maintaining decision-making responsibility, had significant interpersonal costs for delegators. But we also found material ways that managers can alter how and when they delegate decisions, so that employees feel empowered rather than burdened.