The Ministry of Delegation
It is of utmost importance in management to
subdivide tasks to subordinates in a manner that would provide
maximum productivity. This is not always easy as the risk is always
there that the subordinate will not be able to complete the task to
the same high standards that the manager would have done himself.
Yet it is of cardinal importance that this be done, otherwise the
manager would burn himself out trying to do everything
Delegation is the allocation of
duties and tasks to subordinates, including the responsibility,
authority and accountability that would enable them to successfully
fulfill those duties according to predetermined
and its relevance to delegation
Responsibility refers to the
duties of a person in terms of his post and the work allocated to
him. The work need not necessarily be done by the person himself;
he may delegate some of it with its attendant responsibility, but,
in the final instance, he is responsible for the execution of the
its relevance to delegation
It can be defined as the sum of
the rights and powers assigned to a position by which a person has
to carry out and complete certain actions. Time is wasted when
people must go to their superiors for every decision.
Accountability and its relevance to
Accountability refers to the
person’s duty to give an account of having executed his work in
terms of set criteria and determined standards - in other words,
whether the work has been satisfactorily completed. This means that
if a person has responsibility and authority, he is responsible to
his head to complete the task satisfactorily. In spite of the fact
that delegation means that responsibility and authority are
entrusted, the leader (delegator) remains primarily responsible and
accountable for all activities as well as their
The leader might be held
accountable to his boss (manager), but it is the leader’s
prerogative to delegate this responsibility to one of his team
members - and also grant the team member the authority to take any
steps needed to do that task. If the team member were to misuse
this authority, the leader might discipline the team member for
failing by discharging the team member’s responsibility. But the
leader will still be held accountable to the manager (and might be
subjected to discipline) for what had happened - no matter who was
Accountability is created, not
delegated. You can entrust (delegate) parts of your work
(responsibility) and decision-making (authority) to others, but you
cannot entrust to others your obligation (accountability) to see
that work is done and the necessary decisions are made to
principles of delegation should be considered
principle of span of control
One can only delegate
confidently if the person to whom one delegated, can handle the
work. It is important that there should be certain guidelines for
delegation, like clearly formulated goals, understanding of what is
principle of willingness and proficiency
A task should not be delegated
to a person who is unwilling or not qualified to complete it
principle of unity of command
If a person is responsible to
or has to report back to more than one person, confusion
principle of corresponding authority
The authority given to a person
should be related (and be of the same kind) to the responsibility
delegated to him.
principle of accountability
Individuals and not groups are
accountable for the results. Errors can be pinpointed quickly for
corrective action steps.
for effective delegation
A good knowledge of the process
The right attitude on the part
of the leader.
Willingness to entrust
responsibility and to transfer authority to
Willingness to delegate in
order to strengthen the organization by training replacements in
all facets of the work.
Willingness to allow
subordinates to make decisions.
Knowledge of the difference
between the allocation of work and delegation.
The realization that delegation
begins with simple steps.
The realization of the need for
a set of controls to ensure effectiveness of delegation.
The realization that it is
human to make mistakes and that subordinates can sometimes make the
An appreciation for the
difference between operating and management work.
A knowledge that the
subordinate is well trained to take the responsibility and
authority of the position.
A knowledge of what to delegate
and how much.
delegation requires the leader to:
Know the qualifications of his
Have full trust in his
Desire constantly to lead his
subordinates and to know and appreciate with satisfaction that the
subordinates can do work as well or better than he can.
Train the subordinates to
efficiency and effectiveness.
The process of
delegation. Leaders should:
The objectives of what should
be done and why it should be done must be known to the group and
the leader. If the worker knows that the work he is doing is
important and contributes to the success of the organisation and
where it fits into the overall pattern, he will perform his job
with greater effectiveness and enthusiasm.
define responsibility, authority and accountability
Spell out precisely what is to
be done and specify this in terms of limits. Outline the limits of
authority within which he can make any decisions that he feels
For effective delegation,
motivate the subordinate to do the work willingly and with
Accountability must be based on
clear, understandable and measurable performance standards. Plans
must be understood and accepted by the people who report to us.
Ensure sound objectives programmes and budgets to guide
doctrine of completed work
A task or assignment/work is
given to a person. He must know that it is expected of him to
complete the whole task, or find a solution to the problem and make
the necessary recommendations without the help of the superior. He
must be an achiever, a doer, a person who gets things done
completely. It is open for him to get advice and
training and retraining
Retrain for new demands.
Subordinates must be trained to accept work and do it. Leaders must
be trained to delegate work completely. A good knowledge is
suitable delegation controls
The leader who delegates work
must be in a position to provide his immediate superior readily
with accurate reports on the progress of the work being
include in your delegation
While there are limits to what
you can safely delegate, you can feel free in assigning to others
all technical work possible and all of the routine and detail work
exclude from your delegation
You can safely delegate
everything but the work and the authority for which only you have
the perspective to do. You cannot safely delegate final management
decisions (on overall operating problems) and work which
subordinated cannot perform effectively.
accountability cannot be delegated. Although work was delegated the
superior still retains the responsibility and
failure of delegation
fail if the junior is incapable of
making the decisions required of him through insufficient
experience and insufficient knowledge.
fail if the authority to control
resources and execute decisions is not commensurate with the
fail if the requirements are not made
clear, or fully understood and accepted.
fail if the consequences of success or
failure are not appreciated for the rest of the job, or
organization and for themselves.
fail if check points are not established
so that errors could be detected in time.
fail if the relationship between manager
and juniors is one of suspicion rather than trust. It is therefore
necessary that a manager should know and understand his job of his
junior and how he spends his time, and what resources are at his
fail if the leader does not know the
strengths and weaknesses of his subordinate. He does not know what
to delegate. Operating work should be delegated as far as possible.
Retain only the specialist work you supervise, which only you can
do, and work which cannot be done by a subordinate. The general rule is to include
everything possible relating to management work in your delegation
except for the initiation and final decision. Routine and
detail work must be included in your delegation as much as
possible. Final management decisions and overall operating problems
should be excluded from the delegation process.
fail if the manager does not back-up his
subordinate or allows delegation back to himself.