The outer boundary defines the limits of discretion. In between lies the scope for initiative and for personal responsibility. W L. Gore, creator of the well-known Gore Tex fabric, whose company does its best to foster the learning habit, makes a nice distinction between the two boundaries. Subsidiarity is self-fulfilling. In traditional organizations, the space for initiative is limited.
Many jobs are all core and no space.
The water-line is set very high. Control is tight. There is no initiative without prior permission. In the flexible, responsive organizations that are needed today, the space has to be larger because the center cannot define in advance the details of every job. This means that each individual or team must understand very clearly which types of initiatives are acceptable and which are not.