---
id: "action-delegate-decisions"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["¶6"]
tags: ["delegation", "executive-leadership"]
related: ["framework-decision-rights-mistakes", "concept-decision-rights"]
action: "Identify exactly four decisions per year to own, and delegate the final call for all others."
outcome: "Empowers the best-positioned individuals to make decisions and prevents executive bottlenecking."
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-106-decision-frameworks-fail"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/gg-why-decision-making-frameworks-fail"
sourceTitle: "Why Decision-Making Frameworks Fail"
---
# Limit Executive Decision Ownership to Four per Year

**Action.** To avoid getting stuck in a rut where executives are *always* "Accountable" and subordinates *always* "Responsible," senior leaders should explicitly **identify just four major decisions per year that they are responsible for**, and actively **step out of the rest** to empower those best positioned to make the call.

**Outcome.** Empowers the best-positioned individuals and prevents executive bottlenecking.

Direct countermeasure to failure mode #4 ("getting stuck in the same roles") in [[framework-decision-rights-mistakes]]; expresses the dynamic-ownership principle at the heart of [[concept-decision-rights]].