Dominic LawProduct Manager| PCCW GlobalHappy Valley, Hong Kong
I think there is no hard and fast rule on percentage of work for delegation. On the other hand it is better, during project planning stage, to have a human resource plan so to have an organization chart of clear role and responsibility, and recruit the project team members to have the right skills in their roles. And each member is empowered to make his/her decision. And PM should do what a PM is entitled to do, which is leading the team to achieve the target. Saving Changes...
While work on a task or activity can be shared, ultimately there should only be one owner. And ownership in this context means 100% responsibility. Saving Changes...
Atimes the goal is more important than the role.Having a good Human resource plan as Dominic said is necessary. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
You cannot transfer responsiblity, you can only delegate it. That means, as previously pointed out, that you retain responsibility even after delegation.
Delegation is often affected by organizational imperatives. When a company is growing, delegation is prevalent. This allows for quicker decision-making.
When a company is cutting costs, they usually refrain from delegation. This ensures that all decisions are cost-effective.
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1 reply by Cris Casey
Feb 15, 2017 12:48 PM
Cris Casey
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Stephane -
Not sure I agree completely with your post. Transfer of both accountability and responsibility from/to individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups are daily occurrences based on project and organizational dynamics .
I would also argue that delegation does not necessarily lead to quicker-decision making, it merely places the decision authority in a different place. The fastest decision making happens by executive fiat (which may include delegation or transfer of authority).
Finally, in my experience, delegation is what allows a company to maintain its strategic direction by sharing or transferring workload. Whether a company is growing or cost cutting, shifting or collapsing workloads all happen under the delegation 'umbrella'.
You cannot transfer responsiblity, you can only delegate it. That means, as previously pointed out, that you retain responsibility even after delegation.
Delegation is often affected by organizational imperatives. When a company is growing, delegation is prevalent. This allows for quicker decision-making.
When a company is cutting costs, they usually refrain from delegation. This ensures that all decisions are cost-effective.
Stephane -
Not sure I agree completely with your post. Transfer of both accountability and responsibility from/to individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups are daily occurrences based on project and organizational dynamics .
I would also argue that delegation does not necessarily lead to quicker-decision making, it merely places the decision authority in a different place. The fastest decision making happens by executive fiat (which may include delegation or transfer of authority).
Finally, in my experience, delegation is what allows a company to maintain its strategic direction by sharing or transferring workload. Whether a company is growing or cost cutting, shifting or collapsing workloads all happen under the delegation 'umbrella'.
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1 reply by Stéphane Parent
Feb 15, 2017 1:20 PM
Stéphane Parent
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We'll have to agree to disagree then, Cris.
I have never seen someone wash their hands of their responsibility by transferring it. Even when you use insurance to transfer risks, you still remain the risk owner.
Delegation of, say, signing authority, is usually about putting the decision closer to the action - aka, empowerment. Thereby, speeding up the decision. When an organization goes into expense reduction mode, they usually roll back the delegations. I have seen it happen time and time again in both governments and companies.
You are responsible for your domain of control. You can transfer and delegate as much as you want, you retain ultimate responsibility for that domain.
Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Feb 15, 2017 12:48 PM
Replying to Cris Casey
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Stephane -
Not sure I agree completely with your post. Transfer of both accountability and responsibility from/to individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups are daily occurrences based on project and organizational dynamics .
I would also argue that delegation does not necessarily lead to quicker-decision making, it merely places the decision authority in a different place. The fastest decision making happens by executive fiat (which may include delegation or transfer of authority).
Finally, in my experience, delegation is what allows a company to maintain its strategic direction by sharing or transferring workload. Whether a company is growing or cost cutting, shifting or collapsing workloads all happen under the delegation 'umbrella'.
We'll have to agree to disagree then, Cris.
I have never seen someone wash their hands of their responsibility by transferring it. Even when you use insurance to transfer risks, you still remain the risk owner.
Delegation of, say, signing authority, is usually about putting the decision closer to the action - aka, empowerment. Thereby, speeding up the decision. When an organization goes into expense reduction mode, they usually roll back the delegations. I have seen it happen time and time again in both governments and companies.
You are responsible for your domain of control. You can transfer and delegate as much as you want, you retain ultimate responsibility for that domain.
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1 reply by Satish Sharma
Feb 15, 2017 1:22 PM
Satish Sharma
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I agree with Stephane, authority can never be fully delegated.
Saving Changes...
Satish SharmaCertified SAP S4Hana 1909 Financials Expert| FreelanceNew Delhi, India
Feb 15, 2017 1:20 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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We'll have to agree to disagree then, Cris.
I have never seen someone wash their hands of their responsibility by transferring it. Even when you use insurance to transfer risks, you still remain the risk owner.
Delegation of, say, signing authority, is usually about putting the decision closer to the action - aka, empowerment. Thereby, speeding up the decision. When an organization goes into expense reduction mode, they usually roll back the delegations. I have seen it happen time and time again in both governments and companies.
You are responsible for your domain of control. You can transfer and delegate as much as you want, you retain ultimate responsibility for that domain.
I agree with Stephane, authority can never be fully delegated. Saving Changes...
Stephane and Satish - you have lead charmed lives. ;)
On a macro level, I've witnessed (and participated in) many business transformation initiatives where changes in authority were shifted from one executive to another. The process by which the transfers occurred was delegation by senior staff.
On a micro level, I've seen individuals totally abrogate their responsibility and accountability to their teams under the guise of 'empowerment'. In some organizational cultures, if something goes 'wrong', the individual who empowered their team would NOT be held responsible because they faithfully carried out the corporate empowerment mandate.
One final point that bears mentioning is that not all delegation involves authority. Delegating of analysis or design tasks, for instance, do not necessarily come with increased authority; they do however come with responsibility.
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1 reply by Satish Sharma
Feb 16, 2017 1:18 AM
Satish Sharma
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I appreciate your point of view, kind of new to me if in a transformational function authority can be fully delegated, this is contrary to general management function.
Also, acknowledge your delineating the authority from a task in delegation, don't really know how is that done.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this point.
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