Similar to Carver’s Policy Governance (see Basics of Directing People Across Cultures) is the vital importance, especially in pursuing goals across cultures, of–

First, choosing high quality people to work interculturally,

second, trusting their first-hand knowledge of a current, developing situation to make good decisions in intercultural contexts, and

third, only interrupting them to explain their approach when there’s substantial evidence that they may have crossed a line that was previously defined as forbidden.

This is a reason that small teams, companies and organizations can typically run circles around larger, longer-established companies.

The larger established companies have—over time—built in so many micro-rules and micro-managing accountability devices that good people at the front lines are hamstrung.

Hamstrung teams cannot innovate quickly enough to meet very immediate needs in rapidly developing situations.

But teams who have benefited with sharp-thinking directors who’ve provided them with vivid goals, clear guidelines and the freedom to work the problems based on what’s developing before them–they can run circles around the rest and achieve surprising results.