The Art
Of Delegation
Effective Delegation
It is impractical for the managers at any level to handle all of the work of the department directly. In order to meet the organization's goals, focus on objectives, and ensure that all work is accomplished; managers at every level must delegate authority. Authority is the legitimate power of a supervisor to direct subordinates to take action within the scope of the supervisor's position. By extension, this power, or a part thereof, is delegated and used in the name of a delegating manager. Delegation is the downward transfer of formal authority from superior to subordinate. The employee is empowered to act for the manager, while the manager remains accountable for the outcome. Delegation of authority is a person-to-person relationship requiring trust, commitment, and contracting between the manager and the employee.
All managers must decide what work they themselves should do and what should be left for others. This process is called delegation. Delegation is the process of entrusting work to others by giving them the right to make decisions and with that the right to take action to make the decisions come about. There are three steps to delegation. In step 1, the manager assigns responsibility by assigning the task and explaining the work that the person is expected to do. In step 2, the manager grants authority to act. Along with the assigned task, the right to take the necessary actions is given to the other person. Authority is a right to act in ways needed to carry out the assigned tasks. In step 3, the manager creates accountability. By accepting an assignment, the person takes on a direct obligation to the manager to complete the job a ...