Essential Skills for Public Servants-14

Delegation of Authority

Shahid Hussain RajaIndependent Consultant-Public Policy

www.sanoconsultants.co.uk23rd May,2013

Introduction

What is delegation

Needs/benefits of delegation

Eight Cs of delegation

Conclusion

Sequence

Organizational effectiveness is dependent upon several factors. Appropriate quantum of delegation to right persons and up to right level is one of them

Unfortunately our civil servants are very reluctant to delegate for one reason or other

Lack of confidence in their employees or fear of losing the control are normally obstacles in delegation

It not only stifles the capacity building of the employees but also de-motivates them to put in their best efforts

Introduction

assigning of certain responsibilities along with the necessary authority by a superior to his subordinates.

Delegation of authority can be defined as subdivision

and sub-allocation of powers to the subordinates in order to achieve effective results.

Delegation does not mean surrender of authority by the

competent authority. It only means transfer of certain responsibilities to subordinates and giving them the necessary authority, which is necessary to discharge the responsibility properly.

What is delegation

Every process of delegation essentially involves three interrelated steps i.e. delegating authority, vesting responsibility, and holding the delegatee accountable.

Accountability is a result of responsibility and responsibility is result of authority. Therefore, it is said that authority is delegated, responsibility is created and accountability is imposed

Elements of Delegation

Authority – is the legitimate power vested in a competent authority with the right to delegate it partially or wholly to his subordinates for the realization of the goals and objectives of the organisation.

Authority always flows from top to bottom and gives a right to the competent authority to use and allocate the resources efficiently, to take decisions and to give orders so as to achieve the organizational objectives.

Elements of Delegation-Authority

Responsibility –if authority flows from the top to the bottom, the responsibility moves from lower to the higher rungs of an organisational structure.

A person who is given the responsibility to complete the task assigned to him has to ensure that he accomplishes the tasks assigned to him.

Obviously responsibility without adequate authority is as useless as authority without responsibility as both can create discontent and dissatisfaction among all.

Elements of Delegation-Responsibility

Accountability – means holding the delegate res answerable if there is any variance in the actual performance from tasks assigned without giving any plausible reasons.

Being the bedrock of superior-subordinate relationship, accountability can neither be delegated nor can it be avoided.

Elements of Delegation-Accountability

Delegation is not only the need of the big organizations like government departments but also legally mandated function of a public servant

Beside improving your team’s productivity and building their capacity, it gives time to senior management to devote more time and attention to policy formulation and strategic planning

Leaving an efficiently working organization and

capable team is the best legacy you can leave. It is only possible by maximum delegation of authority when you are in power.

Need/Benefits of Delegation

Conceive-what are the duties you perform

Choose-what can be delegated

Capacity-who is fit to shoulder the responsibility

Clarity-clear cut instructions

Communications-constant liaison

Confidence-have confidence, build confidence

Constant monitoring-everyone needs monitoring

Cooperation-do not leave them in the lurch

8 Cs of delegation

This framework of 8 Cs has been developed by me. Kindly do acknowledge when sharing.ThanksShahid Hussain Raja

Make an exhaustive list of duties you perform-whether written in your job description or not

Similarly the duties your respective employees perform be also categorised

Weed out what unnecessary duties, if any, you or your employees are doing.

Good time to retain the most essential duties your organization should be doing

Conceive

Choosing what to delegate and what to retain is the one of the biggest leadership challenge

Delegate the routine and others where not much policy making is involved

Remember you cannot delegate the following A. incentives and rewards system B. monitoring and evaluation C. Upward communications/relations D. Sensitive information handling

Choose

Do not delegate to those who are not capable of handling the increased roles and responsibilities

Do not overload your employees in one go. Gradual delegation is as important as quantum of delegation

Delegate in the line of duty-concerned ones and not pick and choose on the basis of discrimination

Candidates/capacity

Clarity of duty as well as result expected has to be the first step in delegation.

It explains how a superior gets work done from his subordinate by clearly explaining what is expected of him and how he should go about it.

Clarity of orders is the most important element in any organisational setup. Remember the lesson of the Charge of the Light Brigade ?

It is all the more important when delegating the authority Explain in clear terms, verbally as well as in writing the what,

why ,when and where of duty assigned

Clarity

Whether delegated or not, having constant communication with your subordinates is sine quo non of your effective leadership

Constant communication, downwards and upwards, helps in solving the issues before they become problems

Communications

People take time to adjust to new and enhanced responsibility

You must have confidence in your employees to rise to the occasion

Have confidence in them and build confidence in them

Forgive and forget the mistakes of the juniors but do counsel them in private

Confidence

Once delegated, your role and responsibilities just change ,not finish

Constant monitoring and taking corrective measures wherever needed is your responsibility

Constant Monitoring

Delegation is just for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization

However if you do not cooperate with your employees, they will not operate at their optimum level

Help them to excel by guiding and assisting them in discharging their duties

Cooperation

Keeping an optimum balance between what to delegate to whom and why is an important leadership challenge for a civil servant

It would help in achieving the organizational goals as well as meeting the self actualization goals of your subordinates

However remember that delegation of authority

does not absolve you of your overall responsibility

It is your moral and legal responsibility to own if anything goes wrong because it was your choice

Conclusion

Thanks