Delegation

What it means

Delegation means handing a task, together with the necessary authority, to a subordinate or external partner, while ultimate responsibility stays with the person delegating. It frees management time for strategic work and develops people by giving them room to decide.

Good delegation is not offloading unpleasant work. It needs a clear brief: what the result should be, by when, with what resources and which decisions the delegate can make alone. A RACI matrix helps divide tasks and responsibilities within a team.

The Eisenhower matrix helps choose what to delegate: urgent but less important tasks are typical candidates. In strategic management, delegation builds on management by objectives, where the manager sets the goal and leaves the route to the team.

How it works in practice

When delegating, agree on checkpoints, such as a short weekly meeting, and the level of autonomy: from following instructions, through proposing a solution for approval, to full autonomy with a report afterwards. The level rises over time with experience.

Legal acts are delegated too. A director can authorise an employee or accountant by power of attorney, for example to file tax returns or deal with authorities. The scope of the power should match the task rather than be general.

Owners of small firms often do not delegate because they think they can do it faster themselves. That may be true in the short term, but in the long run they become the company's bottleneck. A common first step is handing routine work such as bookkeeping and payroll to an outside partner.

What to watch out for

Delegating a task without authority sets a person up to fail. If an employee is accountable for a result, they must be able to decide how to proceed and have access to the information, budget and people they need.

A director cannot delegate away statutory responsibility, for example for keeping accounts or filing for bankruptcy. They can entrust the work to others but must choose and supervise them properly, or they are liable for damage caused by a lack of oversight.