IT leaders can take a burden off their staff and protect the longer-term interests of their enterprise by setting boundary rules. A classic example is the rule that when it comes to standards, "no more than two flavours of any type of hardware/software can exist at any point in time". Boundary rules work. They encourage responsible decision making by restricting decision authority, but they also allow for well-reasoned exceptions by escalating the decision to higher levels.

There are many varieties of IT-specific boundary rules. These include those related to strategic focus ("all new investments must benefit the external customer"), investment levels ("IT funding changes will not negatively impact company margins"), business needs ("success will be gauged based on end-user acceptance"), infrastructure ("all improvements require business cases"), projects ("plan for six months, cancel at nine"), risk ("we will set controls in compliance with . . .") and sourcing ("all the best work will be done by our own employees").

It's impossible and undesirable for leaders to be involved with every decision that is made within their organizations. Yet given that leaders are accountable for the outcome of the decisions made under their watch, it is essential that decisions are made well. Sorting out decision priorities and authorities can help ensure that the right decisions get made in a way that enhances the relationships of those who need to work closely together to get the job done.

Susan Cramm is founder and president of Valuedance, a California-based executive coaching firm. You can e-mail feedback to susan@valuedance.com