The Perils of Too Much Autonomy

I have an invited commentary up at Public Finance International, focused on the pathologies of too much autonomy in international sports organizations. Here is how it starts:

Accountability matters if organisations are to perform. To illustrate that this is so, here is an experiment that you can try at work. Go to your boss and explain that, from now on, you’d like to operate with autonomy. No more performance reviews, no more peer evaluations and no more training. Add in that you’d like to set you own salary and receive £700 per day when you travel.

After the laughter subsides, tell your boss that you were just exploring whether the model of governance that characterises most international sport organisations would make sense where you work.

You can read the whole thing here.