---
id: "framework-decision-rights-mistakes"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["¶3", "¶4", "¶5", "¶6"]
tags: ["decision-making", "anti-patterns"]
related: ["concept-decision-rights", "claim-roles-before-goals-turf-wars", "claim-static-raci-ignored", "claim-raci-misunderstood", "entity-raci"]
speakers: ["Lindy Greer", "Maxim Sytch", "Jennifer Jordan"]
steps: ["Confirming roles without clarifying goals — degenerates into ego-driven turf wars because objectives are too broad or too narrow.", "Assuming everyone will adhere to the boss's spreadsheet — creating a static list without co-creation leads to immediate abandonment by the team.", "\\\"Misunderstanding roles — fundamental disagreements persist about basic definitions (e.g.", "Accountable vs. Responsible) even among veteran users.\\\"", "Getting stuck in the same roles — defaulting to executives as 'accountable' and subordinates as 'responsible' ignores who is actually best positioned to make the final call."]
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"
---
# Four Common Mistakes in Decision Rights

[[entity-lindy-greer]], [[entity-maxim-sytch]], and [[entity-jennifer-jordan]] outline **four primary reasons decision-making frameworks fail in practice**. These anti-patterns highlight the disconnect between theoretical organizational design and actual human behavior. They apply to any decision-rights tool — [[entity-raci-d1]], [[entity-rapid-d1]], or [[entity-dare-d1]] — and elaborate the parent concept [[concept-decision-rights]].

**1. Confirming roles without clarifying goals.** Assigning roles before objectives are defined degenerates into ego-driven turf wars; goals that are too broad or too narrow make ownership impossible to pin down. → [[claim-roles-before-goals-turf-wars]] · fix: [[action-define-goals-first]]

**2. Assuming everyone will adhere to the boss's spreadsheet.** A static, dictated list is glanced at once and forgotten; adherence requires co-creation. → [[claim-static-raci-ignored]] · fix: [[action-cocreate-raci]]

**3. Misunderstanding roles.** Even veteran users disagree on basic definitions — half of 30 consultancy partners thought "Accountable" had the final say, half said "Responsible." → [[claim-raci-misunderstood]] · [[contrarian-raci-confusion]]

**4. Getting stuck in the same roles.** Defaulting to executives as *accountable* and subordinates as *responsible* ignores who is actually best positioned to decide. → fix: [[action-delegate-decisions]] (own only four decisions a year; delegate the rest).

> **Enrichment note:** McKinsey's decision-governance guidance reflects the same shift these four mistakes imply — from role matrices toward clearer decision protocols where the operative question is not "who is involved?" but "who actually decides?"


## Related across segments
- [[framework-four-mistakes]]
- [[concept-decision-rights]]
- [[concept-flat-mode]]