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WISER LEADERSHIP
The Fine Art of Delegation
Delegation is often painted as a simple process but in fact, there are many nuances
Delegation? Empowerment? Have look at the definitions of these in any book or online and it seems so straightforward. Delegation appears to be just a formula to follow. I have a different take, and maybe we can work out why you are getting it wrong...
The way I define the difference is this:
Delegation is the act of passing a task/activity on to someone else whilst retaining the overall accountability for the task. The last bit is extremely important in any hierarchical organisation, without it the person you delegate to (the delegate) is exposed and, as I will go into below, you will not get many of the benefits of delegating.
Empowerment is the overall team or (leader-follower) dynamic that allows the autonomous activity. In order for delegation to be effective and efficient the team need to have an overall level of empowerment that is conducive to the types of tasks delegated. There is no point delegating an entire strategic project to someone with no delegated authority and who needs to check every decision with you. Indeed, even if you were to specify that this task is different (i.e. more empowered)…
