Why Is It Important to Delegate?

As a leader, delegating is important because you can’t—and shouldn’t—do

everything yourself. Delegating empowers your team, builds trust, and assists
with professional development. And for leaders, it helps you learn how to
identify who is best suited to tackle tasks or projects.

Of course, delegating tasks can lighten your workload, but according to Dr.

Scott Williams, professor of management at Wright State University,
delegating does much more than just get stuff off your plate.

For one, the people who work for you will be able to develop new skills and
gain knowledge, which prepares them for more responsibility in the future.

“Delegation can also be a clear sign that you respect your subordinates’
abilities and that you trust their discretion,” Williams writes. “Employees who
feel that they are trusted and respected tend to have a higher level of
commitment to their work, their organization, and, especially, their managers.”

Why Managers Fail to Delegate

While the benefits of delegating are obvious and plentiful, many managers still
fail to delegate effectively. The reality is that there are several myths and
misconceptions about delegating that can make some leaders wary of
handing off work to others.

They think delegating is just passing off work to someone else

“Managers often mistake delegation for passing off work,” writes Harvey

Mackay, founder of MackayMitchell Envelope Co. “So they don’t do it, and
they wind up wasting their time as well as the company’s time and resources.”

Delegation can be a chance to make workloads more manageable, but more

than that, it can provide really valuable teaching opportunities for your
employees, Mackay notes.
Delegation is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of a strong leader.

Granting of Authority:
The next important step in the process of delegation is the granting of
authority to the subordinates. According to Newman, the granting of
authority refers to make commitments, use resources and take other
actions necessary to perform the duties. In other words, the
subordinates to whom duties are assigned must be granted adequate
authority to carry the duties. In this process, it is essential for the
manager to determine the extent of authority that is to be delegated to
the subordinates. This further depends upon the area of authority the
delegating manager himself possesses.
According to Theo Haimann, “Generally speaking, the wise manager
will see to it that the scope of authority which is delegated to a
subordinate is adequate for the successful performance of the assigned
duties. But the scope should not be larger than necessary.”
In this regard, Peter F. Drucker has to say, “The manager has
responsibility downward to his subordinate managers. He has to make
sure they know and understand what is demanded of them. Then he
has to help them reach these objectives. He is responsible for their
getting the tools, the staff, the information they need. He has to help
them with advice and counsel. He has, if need be, to teach them to do
better.”
This reveals that granting of authority is a very important task for a
superior. It does not simply mean that the subordinate be informed
what is to be done, how it is to be done, when it is to be done, etc. But
“it is a blending of two factors – a subordinate’s skills, abilities,
knowledge and potential to contribute, and a manager’s guidance,
counsel and help.” (Scanlan).

. Delegation of Authority:
While the duties and tasks are entrusted to the subordinates by the
superior, the authority should be granted them to perform those
duties and tasks well. It is called as “delegation of authority”. This
delegation of authority is considered as an essential to take all actions,
which lead to accomplish their duties successfully, and the
organisational goals.

 Assignment of Duties:
In the assignment of duties the manager decides how the work is to be
divided among his subordinates. He will consider the best allocation of
these duties in order to achieve a happy balance between an effective
span of management and a reasonable number of managerial levels.
In checking his functions and duties the chief executive will examine
them to see which he can delegate to others and which he cannot
assign to a subordinate. There are some duties which are so routine
that there is no doubt that the manager would do best to assign them
to one of his subordinates.
There are other functions which he can delegate to subordinates who
possess the necessary skill to perform them effectively. And then again
there are those functions which he cannot delegate and must do
himself. A number of managerial duties are borderline cases and could
fall into either one of these groups.
Decisions as to whether or not the manager can allocate a specific duty
to subordinate will often depend on the executive’s general attitude
and the subordinates he has available.

 3.Accountability for Performance of Duties and Exercise of

Authority:
The person to whom any responsibility is assigned and authority is
delegated should also be made accountable or answerable for the
proper performance of the assigned responsibility and for proper
exercise of the delegated authority.

Accountability: this component refers to the process of providing explanations for any

variance in an individual’s performance from the expectations that were set. Unlike
authority and responsibility, accountability cannot be delegated. Rather, it is inherent in

the bestowment of responsibility itself, and anyone who sets out to accomplish a task

and take The process of delegation of authority concludes when an obligation is

established on the part of the subordinate, that indicates the performance expectation

and the amount of responsibility and authority assigned to him. Once the assignment is

accepted, the subordinate becomes accountable for the completion of the duty and is

held responsible to their superior for their performance.  

Accountability Means Obligation

Accountability is the moral compulsion felt by a teammate to meet the goals and

objectives of an assigned task. As a result of accepting a task assignment, your

teammate in effect gives you a promise—either expressed or implied—to do her

best in carrying out the activities associated with it. Having taken on the task,

your teammate is obligated to complete it, and thus is held accountable by you for

the results produced..  

The following are some of the practical guidelines for

making delegation real and effective:
(i) Define assignments and delegate authority in the light of the results
to be achieved.
(ii) Maintain open lines of communication.
(iii) Select the right man in view of the responsibility to be delegated.
(iv) Reward effective delegation and successful consumption of
authority.
(v) Establish proper control for occasional checks to ensure that the
authority delegated is not being misused and is being properly used.
Proper delegation helps in evolving a system. It is this system that
works and personalities only assist the system.

rocess of Delegation:
The step, which is followed when delegating authority, is the process
of delegation. Normally four steps are used in the process of
delegation. It can be shown in the form of diagram.

1. Assignment of Tasks:
The first step in this process is to determine clearly what the
subordinates are supposed to do. Then the capabilities of each
subordinate should be considered to match them with the assigned
duties. The tasks should be distributed in such a manner that the
subordinates are not unnecessarily overburdened and that each one is
capable of efficiently completing the assigned task.
The total task can divided into identifiable parts so that the manager
can handle some parts himself and other parts can be given to skilled
subordinates. This way the coordination and supervision would
become easier.

2. Delegation of Decision making Authority:

The second step is to give authority to subordinates to make and
implement decisions regarding procurement of resources and
supervision of activities that are relevant to the duties assigned to
them. This authority must be clearly stated, and if possible in writing,
so that there is no ambiguity regarding making necessary decisions.

The authority should also be related to tasks so that if the tasks

change, so would the authority. Any matters or decisions that do not
fall within the domain of delegated authority must be referred to the
superiors.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

3. Creation of Obligation:
The third step is the creation of obligation on the part of the
subordinates to perform their duties satisfactorily. The person
assigned the task is morally responsible to do his best since he has
willingly accepted these tasks.

Obligation is a personal concern for the task. Even if the subordinate

gets part of the task done through other people, he must accept
responsibility for timely completion of the task as well as the quality of
the output.

4. Creation of Accountability:
Being answerable to someone for your actions create accountability,
an obligation to accept the consequences, good or bad. According to
Newman, Summer and Warren, “by accepting an assignment, a
subordinate in effect gives his superiors a promise to do his best in
carrying out his duties. Having takes a job, he is morally bound to
complete it. He can be held accountable for results.
Principles of delegation[edit]
There are a number of guidelines, in the form of principles, which are essential to understanding and
implementing the process of delegation. The principles of delegation include:

Principle of result expected[edit]

The authority delegated to an individual subordinate needs to be adequate to ensure their ability to
accomplish the results expected of the task.[8] Prior to delegation, the manager needs to know the
purpose of such delegation and the results which they expect from it. [7] This means that goals,
standards of performance and targets need to be clearly outlined to direct the actions of the
subordinate to completion of the task.[8]

Principle of parity of authority and responsibility[edit]

This principle outlines the concept that authority and responsibility co-exist and must go hand-in-
hand.[7] This means that the authority which is delegated to an employee must be consistent and
equal to that of their responsibility.[8] "Responsibility without authority is meaningless".[8] Each
individual in an organisation requires the necessary authorities in order to effectively carry out
assigned tasks; disparity should not exist between the responsibility imposed on and the authority
granted to an employee in order to carry out a task.[8]

Principle of absoluteness of responsibility[edit]

The principle of absoluteness of responsibility states that delegation of responsibility is not possible.
[7]
 Superiors are unable to relinquish, through the process of delegation, responsibility for the tasks
and activities assigned to their subordinates, for they are the ones who delegated this authority and
assigned the duty.[8] Responsibility is absolute, with a manager remaining accountable for the actions
of their subordinates.[7]

Principle of unity of command[edit]

According to the principle of unity of command, employees should only have one supervisor, who
they report to, are granted authority by and receive orders from. [7] This employee should be solely
accountable to their direct supervisor. This is associated with increased employee efficiency and
less role conflict within an organisation. [8]    

The scalar principle[edit]

The scalar principle asserts that there are clear and formal lines of hierarchal authority within an
organisation.[8] This hierarchy reflects the flow of authority and responsibility. It clearly outlines to
managers and subordinates, who has the power to delegate authority and to whom they are
answerable to.[7]      

Principle of exception[edit]
This principle asserts that employees should be given complete freedom to fulful their
responsibilities within the purview of their authority. [7] Managers should therefore refrain from
interfering with the day-today work of their subordinates, even if minor mistakes are recognised.
[7]
 This level of control leads to more efficient results. In some exceptional cases, managers are able
to interfere on matters deviating significantly from the norm; in this case the authority delegated to
the subordinate may even be withdrawn.[8]    
Parity of authority and responsibility: This principle of delegation suggests that
when authority is delegated, it should be commensurate with the responsibility of the
subordinate. In fact, the authority and responsibility should be made clear to the
subordinate so that she will know what she is expected to do within the powers
assigned to her. There should be proper balance/parity or co-existence between the
authority and responsibility. A subordinate will not function efficiently, if authority
given to her is inadequate. On the other hand, if the excess authority is given, she
may misuse the same. See also “Absoluteness of Responsibility” below.