How Much Autonomy Should You Give Your Global Teams?

As multinational organizations expand into new, global markets, home-office leaders have an important decision to make: How much autonomy should they give their local teams? Based on more than 100 interviews with executives at corporations around the world, the author identified three key questions leaders should ask to determine the best approach to work with different local markets and teams. Depending on the pace of the sector, the company’s reliance on local assets, and its level of trust in local leaders, managers can determine which overseas divisions will benefit from a more centralized structure, and which will be better off making decisions more independently — and then develop a detailed, well-communicated plan to turn those ideas into actions.