Delegation of management means. The principles of delegating authority, responsibilities, tasks and functions in the organization: How to delegate to a leader and avoid dangerous mistakes. Major mistakes in the transfer of authority

In management theory, delegation means the transfer of tasks and powers to a person who assumes responsibility for their implementation.

The goals of delegation are:

? unloading managers, freeing them from routine tasks, creating conditions for them to make strategic decisions;
? revitalization " human factor», Increasing the involvement and interest of employees;
? increasing the capacity of lower levels of management. Delegation is a means of achieving the goals of an organization. If the task is not

delegated to the performer, the manager will be forced to carry it out himself, which in many cases is simply impossible. The one who gets others to get the job done is rightly governed. It is the ability to delegate tasks that turns a person into a leader. The process of delegating authority is shown in Fig. 6.3.

Rice. 6.3.

Delegation is based on authority and responsibility.

Responsibility is the duty of the employee to perform the tasks delegated to him and be responsible for their satisfactory solution.

The employee charged with responsibility is not obliged to do the work personally, but he will always be responsible for its results.

Thus, responsibility cannot be delegated. For example, if the sales department does not fulfill the plan, the sales manager should answer to the sales director, not the sales agents.

The leader of a large organization rarely communicates with subordinates at lower levels, who actually perform most of the specific tasks. Nevertheless, he is responsible for the affairs of the firm and his subordinates and must always remember the famous phrase of the former US President Harry S. Truman: "There is no one else to blame the responsibility."

Authority is the formalized right to use the resources of an organization to carry out delegated tasks.

Authority should not be confused with power. They define what a person in a given position is entitled to do. Power determines what it can actually do. At the same time, you can have power without having authority.

There are two types of powers: line and staff.

Linear powers- this is the authority transferred directly from the boss to the subordinate and then to another subordinate. Thus, line authority creates a hierarchy of control in the organization called the chain of command (Figure 6.4).

Staff powers is the right to advise or assist line managers. In turn, they are subdivided into four groups (Figure 6.5).

Mandatory approvals provide the expansion of recommendatory powers. Within the framework of such an organization of management, the line management is obliged to coordinate a certain range of decisions with the headquarters staff.

Rice. 6.5.

Parallel powers represent a further expansion of staff powers and give the right to reject individual decisions of line management.

Functional powers means giving the headquarters the right not only to propose, but also to carry out certain control actions within the limits of its function.

For the implementation of staff functions and powers in organizations, a special headquarters (administrative) apparatus is formed.

There are the following main types of such an apparatus:

? advisory;
? service;
? private.

Advisory apparatus is formed on a temporary or permanent basis from specialists of a certain profile, whose duties include advising the line management on problems requiring special training (legal problems, the latest or special technology, training and advanced training of personnel, etc.).

Service apparatus performs service functions:

? conducts marketing research;
? prepares plans for financing, material and technical supply, etc.

Personal apparatus- This is a kind of service staff, formed from secretaries and assistant managers. Often in organizations, employees of the personal apparatus, without formal authority, wield a lot of power.

It is important to realize that in large organizations, the administrative apparatus can be composed of many people. In such situations, the apparatus is a subdivision with several levels of management. Thus, the headquarters itself has a linear organization and the usual chain of commands within itself. Naturally, managers in the apparatus hierarchy have linear powers in relation to their subordinates, regardless of the nature of the powers of the apparatus in relation to the organization as a whole.

Determination of the number of posts endowed with line and staff powers should take into account how fundamental and direct the contribution of this type of activity will be to the achievement of common goals. If any kind of activity does not directly contribute to the realization of the organization's mission, it must be excluded.

Naturally, the definition of which powers should be attributed to linear and which to staff is determined by the mission, goals and strategy of the organization. In the words of management specialist Alfred Chandler, "Structure is in line with strategy." Differences in purpose lead to fundamental differences in structure. For example, in most organizations, legal services are certainly a hardware activity. However, in law firm lawyers form the backbone of the organization and are naturally endowed with line powers.

Delegation of authority also determines the degree of centralization and decentralization of the organization. Centralization means the concentration of control tasks, and decentralization- division of tasks according to certain criteria.

Centralization is characterized by a lack of delegation of authority and known limitations of competence, which leads to a decrease in efficiency in decision-making. Excessive centralization infringes on the development of the initiative of representatives of the lower level of leaders.

The factors that determine the degree of decentralization of management are:

? receptivity to new ideas;
? willingness to transfer the solution of minor issues to the lower level of management;
? willingness to trust the lowest level of management;
? the desire to exercise only general control (and not hourly, daily).

The degree of centralization of management powers is determined by the following circumstances:

? decision-making costs. The higher the cost of making decisions, the higher the level they should be considered;
? the size of the organization. The larger the firm, the more difficult it is to coordinate activities within it. This is where the advantage of horizontal links comes in. In large firms, the maximum decentralization of authority and division of the organization into a number of large blocks is necessary, the management of which should be as close as possible to the level at which decisions are made;
? features of historical development and traditions;
? the character and worldview of senior leaders;
? the availability of the necessary personnel;
? the nature of the activity, which in itself limits the possibilities of centralizing powers;
? business dynamics - the higher it is, the higher should be decentralization;
? by external forces in the form of state regulation, taxation peculiarities, actions of trade unions.

The centralization of governance creates the following benefits:

? ensures the concentration of resources in the key areas of the organization's activities;
? eliminates unjustified duplication of management functions, which leads to savings in the organization's resources;
? concentrates the decision-making process at those levels where they know the general situation better, have a wider outlook, knowledge, experience.

However, the centralization of management also has its downside:

? a lot of time is spent on transferring information, while a significant part of it is lost or distorted;
? the most important decisions are made by people cut off from life and have a poor idea of a specific situation;
? executors who are familiar with the situation are removed from the development and adoption of decisions, decisions are imposed on them by compulsion. As a result, solutions are not always of high quality and are ineffectively implemented in practice.

Decentralization of the management process allows:

? quickly develop and make decisions, including with the participation of direct executors;
? more accurately reflect the objective situation in these decisions;
? abandon detailed instructions from the center, thereby reducing its overload with secondary problems and reducing information flows.

At the same time, the decentralization of management is accompanied by a number of negative consequences that must be taken into account in practice. Since decisions are made at the lower levels of management, the interests of other departments and the organization as a whole are poorly taken into account or completely ignored. As a result, decisions are often tactical, petty and ineffective. In the absence of general rules and procedures for developing and making decisions, their “shaking” takes a lot of time and is far from always successful. Finally, decentralization can lead to separatism, which is extremely damaging to the organization.

The extreme form of decentralization of governance is its complete absence. For example, in organizations of a conglomerate type, there are no obligatory internal connections: informational, technological, organizational. Even financial ties through which the centralized fund is formed and distributed Money are replaced by financial controls.

When choosing a scheme for delegating authority in an organization, the acceptable trade-off between centralization and decentralization is determined after evaluating the following factors:

? the amount of costs (expressed both in money and in other resources);
? the degree of unification of operational management procedures in departments;
? the size of the organization (where powers are dispersed, decisions are made more quickly);
? philosophy of management (leaders may prefer an authoritarian or democratic management style);
? the presence of an executor suitable for the delegated powers (in the absence of managers of the required level, it is better to leave powers at the highest levels of management);
? control procedures used (than more opportunity control, the more powers can be delegated);
? the nature of the activity (if the organization's operations cover large geographic areas, then a greater degree of decentralization is also required);
? exposure to the influence of the external environment.

Correct delegation of authority should be based on the principles that have been developed by the theory and practice of management.

1. When delegating authority, ensure that the expected results can be achieved.

Since the meaning of authority is to provide the manager with a certain instrument to achieve the goals of the organization, the authority delegated to the executive must be provided with the necessary resources to obtain the expected results. Too often, the manager knows what needs to be done, but does not think about whether the subordinate has everything necessary for this.

Delegation in accordance with expected results assumes that goals are set, plans are developed, communicated to subordinates and understood by them, that conditions have been created that will facilitate the implementation of the tasks.

2. Delegate authority based on the functional purpose of the unit concerned.

The line manager of each department should have the authority necessary to coordinate the activities of this department with the enterprise as a whole. Therefore, the clearer the expected results from the manager or structural unit are defined, the clearer and more fully defined the directions of their activities and delegated powers, the clearer the relationship with other managers and departments is realized, the greater the contribution these management and structural divisions can make to the implementation of the goals of the enterprise. Failure to adhere to this principle can create confusion and confusion about what to expect and from whom.

3. Stick to a scalar chain when delegating authority.

This principle first formulated by A. Fayol: "... a chain of leaders from the highest manager to the lowest." The line of authority is the path along which all communications pass (through each link in the chain) from the highest manager to the lowest and vice versa. This is due to both the need to maintain communication and the principle of one-man management. A clear understanding of the scalar principle is a prerequisite for the smooth functioning of an organization. Subordinates should know, firstly, who delegates authority to them, and secondly, at whose discretion they should delegate the solution of problems that go beyond their authority. The rejection of the scalar chain in decision making leads to a violation of the decision-making scheme and undermined control.

4. Do not violate "Authority level rules».

Each level of government has the authority to make certain decisions. The “rule of authority” requires that decisions within the authority of individual employees are made by them, and not redirected to higher levels of management. In other words, at each level, managers should make all those decisions for which they have the authority, and only those issues that go beyond their competence should be referred to management for consideration. If the decision-making authority is properly delegated, then the manager should not make the decision himself. Subordinates usually quickly figure out which of the leaders willingly makes decisions for them.

5. Never violate the principle of one-man management.

The principle of one-man management is one of the main ones in management. When delegating authority, it is necessary to take into account that the right of direct leadership should belong to only one manager. The principle of one-man command is very useful for clarifying the system of interrelationships between authority and responsibility. If the president of the company appoints an executive committee instead of one manager to manage the sales department, then there will be no one-man management. Forcing each salesperson to report to more than one manager, but several committee members, creates confusion and disrupts performance.

6. Stick to the rule of unconditional responsibility.

Not a single leader can, due to delegation, be relieved of responsibility for the activities of subordinates, since it is he who delegates authority and distributes responsibilities. Subordinates, having accepted the order and having received the powers necessary for its implementation, bear full responsibility to the leaders for their activities; leaders, in turn, bear full responsibility for the activities of their subordinates.

7. Remember the connection between authority and responsibility.

Since the authority is the right to perform the assigned work, and responsibility is the obligation to perform it, it follows logically that authority must correspond to responsibility. Thus, responsibility for certain actions cannot exceed the expected volume of delegated powers, but should not be less than it.

Delegation is closely related to motivation, influence and leadership. The leader must be able to get subordinates to effectively complete tasks.

To improve the effectiveness of delegation, leaders can:

? create a control system to protect yourself when delegating large powers to subordinates;
? improve skills in the field of leadership and influencing subordinates;
? to give more confidence, thereby eliminating the uncertainty of subordinates;
? improve communication in the organization. Timely, accurate, and understandable communication to subordinates of their responsibilities, objectives, and authority is essential to effective delegation.

By accepting delegated powers, a person expects (and reasonably enough) an appropriate reward. But, unfortunately, in many organizations, a clear desire to expand the responsibility of subordinates is not supported by an incentive system. Naturally, workers are less motivated to work if they believe they are giving the organization more than they are getting out of it and may block reasonable efforts to allocate authority.

Many executives believe that they only need to manage the firm personally. Otherwise, business will never get off the ground. This is the wrong position, following which, a business can be severely damaged. There is such a thing as delegation of authority. And if you manage this process wisely, then any organization will only benefit.

You can delegate:

routine and preparatory work;
solution of private and not too significant issues;
narrowly focused activities.

But, having the opportunity to delegate authority to employees, the head must take on the solution of many management tasks. V this list includes the settlement of confidential and strategically important issues, as well as work with tasks that have a high degree of risk, and all those that are outside the rules and existing traditions of the company.

Delegation of authority to subordinates is impossible if it is required:

set goals;
make important decisions;
develop company policy;
lead subordinates;
work on motivating employees;
perform risky tasks;
to work on exceptional and unusual things;
resolve confidential issues.

What is the purpose of delegation of authority? The purpose of this process is to transfer some of the responsibilities to subordinates and free up time for more important work... It is also necessary to determine the rights of employees and the degree of their responsibility in solving specific problems.

Delegation of authority has its benefits

the management frees up time to resolve issues that require personal participation;
the leader gets the opportunity to focus on solving strategic problems, developing plans for the development of the organization;
active workers with creative abilities receive additional motivation and the opportunity to undergo training;
employees can move up the career ladder.

The effectiveness of delegation of authority in an organization is beyond doubt, but not every manager applies this method of work. The reasons may be as follows:

the manager doubts the professionalism of his subordinates, fears that things may go worse;
afraid of losing power and even office;
simply does not trust employees;
is afraid of misinterpretation of his actions by both colleagues and superiors.

If there is a lot of work, and there is sorely not enough time to complete it, many regret that there are only 24 hours in a day. But there are people who somehow miraculously manage to cope with their duties, help others, and even leave time for a good rest. In fact, the secret is simple: they are fluent in the delegation of authority management system.

Delegation levels

For the technique to work, everything must be done gradually. If from the principle “I decide everything myself” to jump abruptly to the principle “let others decide everything,” then things can go much worse. This process has several intermediate stages.

The author of the book "Management 3.0" Jurgen Apello proposed a way to delegate authority, with the help of which such a transition can be made quite simply and painlessly. Moreover, there are no inconveniences for either the manager or his subordinates.

According to Jurgen Apello, there are 7 levels of delegation of authority:

Tell (order). At this level of delegation of authority, the head, based on his own motivation, makes a decision. Subordinates should do it without discussion.
Sell (sell, explain). Foundations the decision explained to employees. Moreover, they may even ask questions why the case will be built in this way. The concerns of team members can also be heard. However, the decision cannot be canceled. Doing it this way helps employees understand that their voice matters and motivates them to continue working. Also, people learn to understand what drives their bosses.
Consult This level of delegation of authority assumes that, before making a decision, the manager shares his own thoughts on this issue with subordinates, asks people to express their views. This behavior shows employees that their opinion is respected, they begin to feel involved in the affairs of the company. In the future, the point of view of employees is really taken into account, but the decision is made independently in any case.
Agree. The manager organizes a discussion process, during which each employee expresses his position. The decision is made jointly, but under the guidance of the boss, who sums up the results at the end of the conversation.
Advise. At this level of delegation of authority, staff are encouraged to adopt a resolution on their own, but a preliminary recommendation is made. The leader only expresses his thoughts on this matter, and the team decides everything.
Inquire There is no advice from the management. Team members work together to find a solution and then simply communicate it.
Delegate The initiative is completely in the hands of the employees. They make a decision and then implement it. The boss is calmly engaged in other important matters.

The levels of delegation of authority by the head are built on the principle of increasing. Employees are getting more and more involved in the decision-making process, while outside control, on the contrary, is getting less and less. If you reduce control gradually, then, giving the initiative into the hands of the team, you can feel more or less comfortable. Confidence that the decisions made by employees are correct is reinforced by the fact that you have come a long way from the first to the seventh level together, and people have managed to learn to be independent. In addition, subordinates during their joint work in this direction were able to understand what exactly the manager expects from them.

The easiest way to manage movement by levels of delegation of authority is through a dedicated delegation board. To do this, you need to draw a table. The first column lists the issues, business processes, or functions requiring attention. One line - one task for which you plan to delegate authority. The remaining seven columns are for the delegation levels described above. In each of these columns, you need to mark at which of the seven levels is the delegation of authority for each specific business process at the moment, and also write down who exactly is engaged in solving the task.

From a regular table, you can make something like a visual matrix. To do this, in the desired cell (delegation level + work question), you can simply place photos of the employees responsible for the work. The level of delegation of authority will not be the same everywhere, equal somewhere to "one", but somewhere to "seven". Such a board is drawn up not only for the head, but also for the personnel of the organization. As you learn to delegate and the team members are ready to work on their own, so will the level of trust in people. This means that the photos of employees responsible for a particular business process will gradually move from the first level to the seventh. Such illustrative examples always work well for staff motivation, make the process more manageable.

How to organize effective delegation of authority

The leader must be able to distribute tasks into those that he will solve on his own, and those that he will entrust to his subordinates. Delegation of authority involves setting a specific goal for the manager, as well as giving a person the responsibilities and rights to achieve it.

Delegation of authority cannot be effective without adhering to the following principles:

control range;
fixed liability;
compliance of duties and rights granted;
transfer of responsibility to the lowest possible level;
reporting deviations.

Control range. The number of employees directly reporting to one manager should be optimal. The chart below shows the definition of the most favorable range:

If the boss has absolutely no subordinates, then it is too expensive. When, on the contrary, the number of subordinates goes off scale, then sometimes it is impossible to get through to the leader. In this case, the cost of waiting increases. The optimal control range is determined by the total cost.

Fixed liability. The manager, who has delegated authority to any employee, is not completely relieved of responsibility for solving the problem. It is divided into two. A team member is accountable to his supervisor, and he must report on the work performed to higher employees. Only a person who has set a particular task for a leader can relieve him of responsibility.

Compliance with rights and obligations. Their scale must be proportionate. If a person does not have enough rights to perform duties, he simply cannot do the work assigned to him.

Transfer of responsibility for work to the lowest possible level of management. If the task can be solved by subordinates, then you must definitely delegate authority to them, and not do everything yourself. Instead, focus on more important issues.

Deviation reporting. If there are any deviations in the work, or they are just outlined, the employee is immediately obliged to report this to his superiors. And it doesn't matter if they are negative or positive.

The purpose of delegation of authority is to relieve the bosses from the daily routine, as well as many other worries of managing the enterprise. If the technique works as it should, then the manager will not be distracted by some minor issues and will agree on any, even the most insignificant, actions. There will be far fewer meetings and the leader can focus on their core responsibilities.

7 principles of skillful delegation of authority

Creation of a team.

In order for your business to develop successfully, you need to create a good team. Of course, it should include real professionals. But there is no less important point: the atmosphere within the team should be the most favorable.

To make delegation of authority easy, you need to:

appoint deputies responsible for certain areas of the company's activities: financial, commercial, personnel, etc .;
find for these positions to find people who are ideologically motivated, proactive and creative.

You can delegate authority to such people with little or no risk. Your company will become not only successful, but also, in a sense, self-developing.

Follow the principles outlined below to select the appropriate alternates to whom you intend to delegate management authority. Keep in mind: this is not about hiring regular employees, but about finding senior executives who will oversee certain areas of activity. In addition, the head, who is fully responsible for the work of the department, must also have the appropriate rights. If he can personally fire employees and recruit new people, then in the event of unsatisfactory work of the department, he will not be able to shove all the blame on his subordinates.

Collaborative immersion in work.

The candidate has been selected and taken over. But it is still too early to delegate authority to him. First, you need to work together, transfer your knowledge and skills to the person. It may take several months for a deputy to get up-to-date. The immersion can take place as follows:

Financial department. Pass on ready-made practical experience to the deputy and share personal experience... If you have the skills to work as a CFO this will surely help.
IT service. The finance department and the IT department can be painlessly combined. Moreover, the company will only benefit from it. The fact is that when drawing up reports in the 1C program, far from all financiers understand where the data comes from. Employees know how everything happens, but they are not able to figure out if everything is really so. Hence, it becomes necessary to hold meetings with the team and simulate possible in the calculation financial indicators circumstances. We have to jointly find out: factors hindering the correct calculation; factors that can fundamentally upset software computations. As soon as financiers understand the principles of the program, they themselves will be able to formulate the requirements for maintaining primary documents. Excuses like “we worked with what the program produced, and if the data is wrong, the IT people are to blame” will no longer work. The financiers will have to establish the order of work of the system, and the specialists of the IT department will ensure its uninterrupted functioning.
Human Resources Management Service. Before delegating authority to the chief of personnel management, explain to him your requirements for employees. For example, in a person, honesty and openness are important to you. The deputy will have to convey this information to the staff. If someone does not like these conditions, then it is better for him to quit.

Such a tough policy should be pursued in order to avoid the situation typical for many firms when a new director visits various divisions of the company and puts forward his requirements, but as soon as he leaves, everything returns to normal, because it is not for employees to disguise weaknesses during the visit of the bosses special labor.

To prevent this from happening, you need to try to visit the divisions of the company as often as possible, even despite the abundance of other important matters. It is necessary that during the first months the managers and employees of these sections realize that the director is not here to look for shortcomings and arrange hassle, but to help. If done correctly, people will no longer be apprehensive about your visits. And, perhaps, they will even wait for them, knowing that in case of need they will be helped.

Be that as it may, the workflow can only be built after you are fully confident in the readiness of your team.

Ability to see the main goal.

Deputies, to whom you can safely delegate authority, should be mini-directors of their services. These people only need to voice the company's goals, and they will immediately start working in the right direction, breaking the main task into its constituent elements. Competent managers should make sure that employees do not say: "I have done my job, the rest is not for me." Each of them should be a cog in a single mechanism, making every effort to ensure that the company grows and develops.

It is recommended to hold weekly meetings with your deputies. At these meetings it is necessary to take stock of the past days and discuss plans for the near future. If necessary, you can collect deputies more often - two or three times a week, but it is better not to interfere with their work, they must cope with current tasks on their own.

Responsible for the result, not for your area of work.

There are deputies who believe that production problems do not concern them in any way, because they are exclusively office workers. It is not worth delegating authority to such people, since their work is not efficient. Here are some examples.

In one of the stores owned by the company, the air conditioner was out of order. Visitors are unhappy. And the blame lies with the head of the operational service. His responsibility is to make it clear to the directors retail outlets that in case of such problems, you need to immediately contact him for the fastest resolution of the issue. And even if at the moment one full-time electrician is on sick leave, and the second is busy, the director of the operational service should get a third one from the ground, who will fix the equipment.

Another situation. There is no specific type of product in the store. The blame should be placed on the sales department. The reason for the lack of goods is not important: they bought it up, the car with it got stuck on the road, something else. The sales team must address this problem immediately. Perhaps, arguments like: "And if the goods are not laid out?" The managers to whom you have delegated authority are simply obligated to work effectively. To avoid the situation described above, the head of the commercial department needs to monitor the data from video cameras on his monitor on the degree of filling the shelves on a daily basis, and this must be done before rush hours.

Deputies need to know one simple truth: they should not let you know about the problems, they should solve them. It’s easy to justify your own failures, but it’s too expensive. Anyone can explain the failure, but it is necessary to make sure that these failures do not exist in principle.

Explain how to prioritize

Both employees and managers must learn one rule by heart: work with customers comes first, everything else can wait. If you need to solve a problem with a client, and for this you have to delay the salaries of employees, then so be it. Such a rule should not be introduced immediately, but only after you understand: the team is formed, and the main thing for your people is to work for the good of the company.

Show subordinates that you are a fair leader.

By delegating authority to employees, you need to demonstrate your fairness to them. This is not as easy to achieve as it seems. Everything will work out if you follow three rules:

In order for a person to feel real responsibility and make every effort to solve a problem, he needs not to be entrusted with the latter, but to be trusted. The employee who is obliged to solve the problem will treat it as an unpleasant duty. He will do the job, but not as well as he could have done it otherwise.
We need to praise, not blame. Everyone has disadvantages, even the most professional workers... And they become especially noticeable if a person drinks, for example, at a corporate party. It is not necessary to remind the employee of his eccentricity "distinguished" at the festive event, it is better to praise the person for a decent job. This behavior will allow people to be who they are, without fear of criticism from the outside. And it will be much more comfortable for them to work.
People need to be listened to, even if they disagree with you about something. There are no ideal leaders, sooner or later everyone makes mistakes. In any case, the opinion of employees is worth listening to, especially when it comes to the nuances of work. When it comes to company policy, be firm and always stand your ground. The tactics for achieving goals can be coordinated, but the strategy must remain the same for everyone.

Accounting and control.

The annual budget of each company contains indicators that need to be achieved at the end of the designated period. Moreover, there can be a lot of ways to achieve it, and this fact provides a lot of opportunities for development.

Delegation of authority and responsibility are different concepts

The responsibility of the employee lies only for the tasks performed by him personally, and not for those assigned to colleagues. A specialist working in one workshop does not bear any responsibility for the work of a master in another, especially since they have never crossed paths at work and are even unfamiliar with each other. Or how can a subordinate be responsible for the decisions of his superiors in the case when he did not exert any influence on them?

Many managers like to proclaim their personal responsibility for each person working in the enterprise, for his mistakes and failures. All this has nothing to do with reality. Calls to be responsible for one common cause also sound insincere, to put it mildly.

In fact, hardly any leader is ready to take responsibility for everything that happens in the company. And that would be unreasonable. The director and his deputies cannot influence absolutely everyone manufacturing process and any decision, their area of responsibility does not cover everything. Managers delegate authority to subordinates, and they themselves control the progress of work. Responsibility for the result, as well as its absence, bears the person to whom this work is entrusted.

The impossibility of absolute responsibility is well illustrated by the following example. The foreman of one enterprise accidentally burned several expensive transformers, thereby causing the company a loss of one million rubles. If you ask the director of the plant to contribute money for the damage caused by this person, what do you think you will hear in response? That's right: "And where am I?"

The principle of shared responsibility has nothing to do with common sense. If you follow such norms, then you can reach the point of absurdity. How, for example, can the head of a large corporation be able to personally account for the actions of each employee from the army of many thousands of hired personnel?

From this we can conclude that there is a huge difference between real delegation of authority and imaginary one. In the present, the boss is only to blame if his subordinate made a mistake due to improper leadership.

You can only be responsible for those things that can be influenced by taking something or, conversely, staying on the sidelines.

There are two types of accountability: for action and for leadership. In the first case, responsibility lies with the employee to whom authority has been delegated. Within the limits of these powers, a person is responsible for his actions or lack thereof.

The demand for the quality of leadership comes from the boss. The manager can be responsible for the mistakes of subordinates, but only in strictly defined situations:

they hired specialists who did not have the relevant professional skills;
an incompetent person was entrusted with the work;
information about the employee's duties was incorrect or was not given to him in full: the person was not told what he needed to know in order to solve the tasks assigned to him;
the employee was not informed about the boundaries of his authority, the goals and objectives were not clearly formulated;
the work of subordinates was not properly coordinated;
random checks were clearly insufficient, the performance of employees was poorly supervised in managerial and professional terms;
the necessary conclusions were not made based on the results of the checks;
there were no discussions with employees about the results of control.

As for middle managers (for example, department heads), they are responsible for both leadership and actions. Responsibility for actions becomes less, the higher the post a person occupies. But at the same time, his responsibility for leadership is growing. This principle also works in the opposite direction: lower-level managers are less responsible for directing their subordinates, but more for their actions.

Delegation problems

For many executives, the job of managing becomes quite difficult, requiring a lot of time and effort. If the boss is experiencing difficulties in delegating authority, this is clearly visible from the outside. For example, during a working day, a person solves a huge number of a wide variety of tasks, literally torn to pieces. By and large, the leader of such a manager is unimportant. He either simply does not cope with his work, or does it to the detriment of the interests of advanced training. In addition, his health suffers, and his family is left without due attention.

Delegation problems arise for several reasons. This may be a psychological unwillingness to share their functions with subordinates, a poorly organized management system in the company (for example, in office work), poorly organized control over the work of those employees to whom powers have been delegated. Some of the causes of these problems are worth considering in more detail.

Some bosses are simply not able to accept the fact that something may be happening in the organization that they do not know about. This state of affairs is perceived by these people as a blow to their authority, and they react to these situations rather painfully. Questions "Why am I not in the know?", "How could this have been done without consulting me?" constantly torture such leaders. Of course, such a psychological attitude of the management cannot but affect the subordinates: people become lack of initiative, try to reduce their obligations to a minimum, at the slightest reason they run for advice from the leader.

Structure management activities today does not imply a broad development of the system of delegation of powers. Nine-tenths of all data used in the operation of the device is transmitted to the authorities in the form of documents. And the majority of them are considered by managers twice: the first time - when the papers arrive, the second - when they are signed and sent. In many organizations, there is a lack of clarity on the issue of signature rights. And this greatly complicates the implementation and operation of the system of delegation of authority. According to the law, the head is obliged to sign not so many papers, but only 15% of the total volume of document circulation. These are all sorts of orders and reports, instructions and plans, certain types acts and contracts, recommendations, etc. In reality, 80, 90, or even 100% of outgoing and internal documentation is on the table of the bosses. And it takes an incredibly long time to read it all, check it out and think it over.

As mentioned above, one of the causes of problems in the process of delegation of authority is the desire of the authorities to always be aware of what is happening. Moreover, the desire is often completely unreasonable.

Another reason for the difficulties in delegating authority is the manager's intention to reserve the right to make absolutely all decisions. This state of affairs, according to the chief, will protect him from possible mistakes of his subordinates. However, such aspirations are not at all a concern for a real improvement in the quality of decisions.

A third reason for complexity is today's congestion fashion. Many managers are well aware that most of the minor issues can be solved by their subordinates, but to look like an immensely busy person from the outside has already become a custom that should not be violated.

Often times, delegation of authority cannot work in full force due to the wrong organization of the workflow. Many bosses give their subordinates tasks in words or record them in paper magazine... As a result, it becomes very difficult to track who is responsible for the work, as well as at what stage it is. But even if the system of delegation of authority is organized correctly, you need to make sure that each employee can see the distribution of current tasks and the stages of their implementation.

Also, a lot depends on the annual certification. Many treat this procedure with a degree of disdain, but completely in vain. With the help of certification, you can identify the potential of employees, assess personal qualities people, find out their aspirations, define a group of responsibility. Regularly carrying out this procedure, you can get rid of the ballast and recruit new personnel. The main idea is to understand what type of work this or that employee is able to handle best.

When conducting testing, you need to pay attention to psychological factor... People in the same position can be very different in their inner qualities. Some are highly resistant to stress and are able to work in conditions of force majeure. Others are lost in a time pressure mode, but they are not scared by routine or paperwork, they are attentive to details and incredibly assiduous.

One of the advantages of delegating authority is that instead of material reward in the form of bonuses and bonuses, Good work employees can be motivated by the opportunity career growth... The development perspective also plays an important role. Always keep this point in mind when interviewing candidates for the position. Practice has shown that many employees leave for competitors due to the fact that they are bored with the same type of assignments, and there is no opportunity to make a career.

The main purpose of delegation of authority is to increase the efficiency of the work of people, as well as their motivation. But on the way to achieving this goal, certain difficulties arise. For example, it is difficult to achieve the assigned tasks if you have incorrectly assessed the level of the employee, do not believe in his responsibility and qualifications. Even the fear of growing with my own hands competitors who can claim your place may be hindered from taking advantage of the delegation of authority.

Another possible obstacle is unpreparedness for a high degree of responsibility. After all, if serious mistakes are made in the work, then the main blame for them will be laid on the head, while an ordinary performer will get off with only a reprimand or a fine. Top managers always understand how a company can face a particular failure in work.

You have to choose which is more important: personal risk or company prosperity. But good leader It should be clear: the competent organization of the system of delegation of authority, from setting a task for employees to developing the smallest details for its solution, is a kind of visiting card of an experienced manager. A serious leader, unlike an average specialist, is able to establish a process practically from scratch and eventually achieve the desired results, for which he receives an appropriate salary.

Delegation is a necessary management technique for any manager. With a competent distribution of powers, great results can be achieved. However, delegation requires compliance with a number of conditions that will help avoid errors and optimize workflow.

Delegation of authority

In the classical sense, delegation means the transfer of a task, responsibility, part of the authority to another performer. It is usually accompanied by the simultaneous provision of funds to achieve the set goals and quality control of the results obtained. Delegation of authority is a management technique for effective leaders and can bring significant success when certain rules are followed.
This opportunity is often viewed as being imposed on employees. extra work... We hasten to reassure you that delegation is a long-term basis for assigning responsibilities.
Let's consider its signs, delegation is:

transfer of any task, responsibility, part of power;
defining a goal for a subordinate, with the transfer of funds and opportunities to him for its implementation and constant monitoring of the implementation process and results;
basis for the distribution of responsibilities;
main job (and not additional) assigned to the employee.

Features of delegation of authority

There are two types of delegation of authority: vertical and horizontal.

Vertical delegation - the transfer of rights and responsibilities down the levels of the organization;
Horizontal delegation - the transfer of the right to make decisions to employees who are not managers in this structure.

As a rule, such types of work as are subject to delegation:

documentation and routine work;
activities requiring specialization;
insignificant and private questions;
preparatory activities.

At the same time, there is a set of some managerial tasks that can be solved only in the person of the head. The performance of such tasks carries a high degree of risk, contains issues of strategic importance, or has a share of confidentiality. Such decisions must be taken with consideration.
Often, these questions include:

Making important decisions for the organization;
Setting goals and promising directions of the company;
Development of enterprise policy;
Employee management;
High-risk tasks;
Cases of exceptional competence;
Confidential questions.

Principles, rules and degrees of delegation of authority

Delegation for effective management should be based on certain principles, namely:

The level of performance and the actions to be performed must be clearly defined;
The time of execution and the report on the results must be set by the chief;
The team or a specific employee who is entrusted with responsibilities must be informed on time about the entire volume of work;
Subordinates must be informed on time about all delegated powers;
The manager is obliged to evaluate the timing and results of achieving the desired goal;
Delegation needs to be organized consistently, not spontaneously;
Employees should have a free choice of tasks.

For the competent construction of a delegation system, each boss is obliged to observe some features and rules during leadership:

Awareness of their deputies and employees about the transfer of authority;
Loyalty to subordinates;
Support and understanding with the subject of delegation;
Providing the necessary assistance to the performer;
Providing subordinates with freedom in decision-making;
Restriction of controlling powers in relation to an employee;
Timely receipt of information about the progress of the work performed.

Degrees of delegation of authority differ for the following reasons:

Full delegation. In this case, the subordinate performs the volume of work in full and is responsible for it to the management team;
Constrained delegation. The employee who is entrusted with the task performs the work only within the outlined framework, and bears responsibility for the results together with the immediate superior;
Zero delegation. The subordinate performs the delegated work, but the manager is responsible for it;
Reverse delegation. Having received the task, the employee transfers a package of powers to his boss.

Reasons for reluctance to delegate authority

There are quite justified risks, according to which the manager may be afraid to delegate his powers to deputies and other employees. The commanding staff may become aware of the reluctance to transfer their tasks to other subordinates for several reasons, the most relevant of which are:

Lack of trust in a subordinate;
Fear of negative work results;
Inability to properly distribute work;
Understanding of their own indispensability and confidence that no one else is able to fulfill the duties of a leader.

At the same time, subordinates may express their reluctance to receive additional tasks for reasons:

Fear of criticism from the manager for mistakes in the process of work;
Lack of comprehensive information explaining the completion of the assignment;
Lack of confidence in their abilities;
Lack of motivation to take responsibility for additional tasks.

Thus, the secret of an effective leader is to correctly distribute responsibilities between employees and monitor the organization. labor process... At the same time, the boss must take responsibility for achieving the set goals and apply methods of monitoring and control over the implementation of labor activities.

In contact with

It is important for leaders of organizations to organize the work of employees in such a way that it brings the greatest return and fully reveals their potential. To do this, you need to know how to practically implement the delegation of authority used to improve the performance of the company without harming the current state of affairs.

Definition

Delegation manifests itself as an equal division of rights and obligations between the subjects of the system. Its principles were formulated at the beginning of the twentieth century by P.M. Kerzhentsev.

Delegation is the granting of authority to perform tasks to an accountable person with the simultaneous assignment of responsibility for the result obtained. Delegation allows you to properly distribute tasks among employees and is used to achieve the ultimate goals of the organization.

Responsibility consists in the obligation of the employee to do the assigned work with high quality and bring it to a satisfactory completion. Employees are accountable in their area of activity to their superiors.

Powers (powers) act as limited rights to use the resources involved in the performance of certain tasks. Each position in the organization is accompanied by specific mandates. The change of the post also leads to the replacement of the employee's powers.

Application

Delegation is the transfer of certain powers and responsibilities to the employees of the company and the equal distribution of various functions between them. An act is performed that determines executive who delegates tasks as a manager who is able to quickly resolve all current issues and skillfully use employees who are best able to cope with each specific type of task.

Goals

Delegation of authority is used to achieve specific objectives by an organization, such as:

connecting the "human factor" - increasing the activity and interest of lower-level employees;
an increase in the efficiency (efficiency) of workers due to the improvement of their qualifications and the acquisition of new skills and abilities;
unloading senior management with the release of time to address strategic, operational and management issues.

Delegating tasks

The following types of tasks are suitable for delegation:

routine;
unimportant questions;
preparatory work;
specialized work.

But not all tasks can be delegated to ordinary employees. The duty of each leader is to settle those tasks that can affect the future activities of the organization.

These are questions of a confidential nature, and non-standard strategic problems, and unexpected situations that require prompt resolution.

Thus, not delegated:

defining goals;
leadership of subordinates;
risky tasks;
unusual work;
making strategic and managerial decisions;
performing confidential tasks;
organizational policy development.

Requirements for the subjects of delegation

In the process of transferring orders, both bosses and employees can face a number of difficulties. Effective management of delegation of authority is possible only by analyzing all existing and probable obstacles affecting the administration and control of current activities.

Problems that sometimes arise for a director or head of a department and interfere with delegation:

fear of losing an existing position and related power;
doubts about the preparedness of other employees, low evaluative characteristics of their activities;
overestimated self-esteem, excessive ambition;
lack of self-confidence, fear that his actions will be misunderstood.

Problems sometimes identified by employees when performing assigned tasks:

doubt about the correctness of the solutions used;
lack of experience;
fundamental disagreements with the boss;
unwillingness to lead other performers, especially in terms of imposing penalties.

A competent leader, when difficulties arise, must first deal with personal obstacles that prevent effective regulation of work, and then carefully examine the problems of the subordinate. An analysis of the situation will indicate possible management errors and will allow you to make informed and well-grounded decisions, for example, in terms of replacing the performer or removing unnecessary load from him, or in terms of working out psychological difficulties, both your own and the performer.

Delegation process

Every manager should strive to plan evenly when organizing a workflow labor duties throughout the team, while applying power and not relinquishing responsibility for the process of completing assignments.

Delegation in an organization is divided into several stages:

Stage I - transfer of the order to the executor;

Stage II - providing the performer with powers and resources;

Stage III - the formulation of the employee's obligations with an indication of the required performance result.

When monitoring the activities of subordinates, the golden mean is important. Excessive custody can lead to stagnation in work and lack of initiative in the employee. If you do not control the process, the result will be critically far from the desired one due to the uncoordinated flow of work in time. It is necessary to establish feedback in advance and achieve respect and high authority among employees.

Often, administrators sin by shifting unwanted and uninteresting work onto their subordinates, especially if they themselves are only superficially familiar with this topic. But this is not always correct, since the boss is still responsible for the progress of the work. If the leader himself has no idea what results should be expected at the exit, how will he be able to control the activities of the subordinate? The answer is obvious.

Experienced bosses prefer to entrust employees with tasks that are slightly more complex than they previously performed. Such tasks help to fully reveal the potential of subordinates. However, in this case, it is better to draw up orders on paper to increase employee motivation.

When allocating powers in an organizational system, it is extremely important to consider the following aspects:

powers must fully comply with the set plan for the implementation of the task, it is the goal that determines the scope of powers, and not vice versa;
the powers of all employees should be competently linked into a single complex without the emergence of contradictions and ensure the balance of the entire structure;
all authority should be clear and specific so that employees can always understand what is required of them and what resources are placed at their disposal.

Proper handling of authority increases the efficiency of the entire organization. Employees gain a clear understanding of their job responsibilities and their goals and thus achieve the best results.

Advantages

In general, the delegation process is characterized by two positive aspects:

The manager's time is freed up to solve problems that require personal participation. It becomes possible to concentrate on planning the company's growth prospects and administration strategy.
Delegation is one of better ways motivating creatively developed and active employees who want to develop and learn. It can be used for training before getting a higher position. Helps to develop in employees new knowledge, skills and abilities that are used for more successful activities.

Delegation principles

For a structured approach, it is advisable to adhere to the following principles when delegating authority. Otherwise, their non-fulfillment can lead to difficulties in management and, accordingly, to unsatisfactory operation of the system as a whole.

Functional definition principle

It is based on the full and clear understanding by each leader of the structural integrity of the organization: what rights and responsibilities each subject of the system is endowed with, what information and service links were carried out between them, the direction and results of their work activities. In other words, an experienced administrator always knows what to expect and from whom.

Scalar principle

Based on clear separation job duties... Each performer should know to whom he should be directly accountable for the results of his work, and whose activities he should independently regulate. This principle indicates the chain of service relationships between subordinates and leaders of the entire organizational system. The more expressive this line, the more effective management and communication between employees. Any subordinate needs an accurate understanding of who delegates authority to him and to whom to transfer issues that are not within the boundaries of his competence.

The principle of the level of authority

It combines the above two principles. Each employee must clearly understand the scope of authority delegated to him and, on his own, solve problems corresponding to his level of authority, and not transfer these issues to the higher management.

Otherwise, a stalemate may arise when managers will be forced to again face issues that have already been delegated to subordinates. When using this rule, there should be not only a transfer of powers, but also a delegation of responsibility.

Principle based on expected results

Shows that all activities of the organization need careful planning. All assignments should have clear objectives and specific expected outcomes. Otherwise, the manager simply will not be able to competently distribute tasks between employees, without having a complete idea of whether subordinates have enough authority for the work delegated to them.

The principle of one-man management

Based on the close relationship between the performer and the leader. The higher the level of cooperation, the stronger the subordinate's sense of personal responsibility and the less likely it is to receive conflicting orders. It is important that the task to the employee is delegated by only one boss in order to avoid confusion and a situation when "the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing."

The principle of unconditional responsibility

Although when delegating assignments to a subordinate, authority and responsibility for the results of the work done are simultaneously transferred, this is not a reason to relieve the manager of the obligations imposed on him. It is the boss who decides to delegate the task, so he is still responsible for labor activity subordinates and the execution of the task. Executors are responsible for the work done, and managers are responsible for the actions of subordinates. This principle is of particular importance when the delegation of state powers and others with a high level of authority is carried out.

The principle of balancing authority and responsibility

Indicates that the delegated authority must be consistent with the responsibilities assigned to the subordinate. If the scope of authority is less than responsibility, then the performer will not be able to fully perform the work transferred to him, but if it is higher, then a situation of uselessness of the imposed powers or abuse of official position may arise.

Each administrator must competently organize the delegation of authority and responsibility. The principles discussed above will help him with this.

Types of powers

In the system of the organization, in accordance with the current goals and requirements, different kinds powers. They are determined by the activities of the departments and their overall functionality.

Linear

These powers are directly transferred from the head to the performer and further according to the scheme. A boss with line powers is able to make decisions within the boundaries of his competence without prior agreement with other bosses. The sequential scheme of these powers forms a hierarchy of levels of administration.

At the same time, the delegation of authority and responsibility occurs only when taking into account the principle of one-man command and, at the same time, the norms of controllability. As for the principle of one-man command, it was discussed above.

This principle shows that only one manager dominates over each employee, and the employee reports only to his immediate superior. And the control rate is the number of employees who report to a specific leader.

However, with a significant increase in the number of chains in the leadership scheme, there is a strong slowdown in the operational exchange of information. Because of this, there is a need for an introduction to organizational structure other powers.

Staff

To determine what categories of staff powers exist, you must first disassemble the types of staff offices, of which the following are distinguished:

The advisory apparatus is used to solve specialized problems. It can work both temporarily and permanently.
Serviceman - Used to perform specified services (an example would be the HR department).
Personal is a subcategory of the service device. Formed when the chief hires an assistant or secretary. All members here have high formal authority.

Accordingly, the powers that can be transferred to any of the devices are divided:

Recommendations - applied by the advisory headquarters, whose rights are limited to professional recommendations.
Mandatory approvals are extended to the heads of their decisions, together with the apparatus.
Parallel - are used in cases where the apparatus can overrule the decisions of the management, are used to prevent gross violations. For example, the use of concurrent credentials is justified when making large purchases where two signatures are required.
Functional - they are at the highest level, they can both allow certain actions and cancel. Their use has become widespread, especially in areas such as employment control and accounting methods.

The use of additional devices helps to significantly simplify the management structure in companies with a large number of employees. Thanks to the close and properly structured interaction of all subjects of the company, the effectiveness of the organization as a whole increases. For effective management, other parties must also be taken into account: the principles of delegation of authority, requirements, features, types, etc.

The use of delegation is important for any manager. It helps to competently organize the work process, clearly separating the rights and responsibilities of all employees. It is much easier for performers to work when they know what is required of them and what results they need to achieve. In addition, delegation is an important factor that is used to increase the efficiency of each employee and free up additional time for the manager to solve strategically important tasks, which, accordingly, leads to an increase in the efficiency and productivity of the entire system.

Delegation of authority is the process of transferring the management of a company to their specific tasks subordinate, taking into account the level of his qualifications and experience.

This process involves not shifting your responsibility and work to subordinates, but its competent distribution between all employees of the company.

This is done to improve the performance of the entire company as a whole.

Delegation goals

The main goals of delegation include:

Unloading employees of higher management positions, relieving them of routine work and creating optimal conditions for solving the most important strategic and promising management tasks;
Increasing the capacity of employees of lower positions;
Activation of the "human factor", increasing the involvement of employees in the labor process.

Principles of delegation of authority in management

As with everything in management, delegation of authority has its own principles. Thanks to their observance, it is possible to increase the performance of the company by 30-40%.

The main principles of delegation are:

The principle of one-man management. He is key. It means that each employee should have one single boss who will report to him.
Restrictions. Each employee in a managerial position should be assigned a specific number of employees. He has the right to manage only them.
The principle of duties and rights. It means that you cannot give an employee more authority than is spelled out in his job responsibilities.
Consolidation of responsibility. The process of delegating authority does not relieve the firm's manager of responsibility.
The principle of transfer of responsibility. When delegating authority, the manager must know that all tasks will be completed.
Reporting principle. If there are any deviations from the fulfillment of tasks, it is necessary to draw up a report for the director of the company.

Delegation rules

The process of delegation of authority must be carried out in accordance with certain rules. The main ones include:

It is necessary to take into account the employment of the employee. A busy employee will not be able to efficiently cope with additional. tasks received from management.
Delegation of authority is necessary for the benefit of the company.
Power does not need to be concentrated in one place.
Plans should be made with the delegate's potential for error.
Responsibility for the performance of the work by the delegate rests with the head of the company.

Delegation stages

Delegation of authority is carried out in several stages:

Assigning certain individual tasks to subordinates.
Providing subordinates with the resources and powers necessary to carry out the tasks received.
Formulation of the obligations of subordinate employees to perform their assigned tasks.

Delegation benefits

The delegation process has the following advantages:

The director of the company is freed from performing routine tasks and gets time to solve important strategic issues;
Through delegation, workers can improve their qualifications.