Employees who are empowered with clear authority for actions and decision-making are more motivated in their jobs, take more initiative and get more done. But it’s the responsibility of the leader to provide the leadership style and conditions that lead to empowered employees.
In my last article on delegation I described the mechanics of delegating work and responsibility to employees.
In this article I will focus on delegating authority, which will ensure that employees are empowered to take responsibility and make decisions that go with the job.
To be effective in delegating and getting the results you want from employees you need to make sure that the employee understands their authority level relative to their job functions.
Levels of Authority
There are four levels of authority:
- complete authority
- act and report
- act only after consultation
- act only after approval
Defining Authority Levels
To define the levels of authority, have the employee breakdown their key functions. Usually 20% of what an employee does are the most important in terms of contribution to goals and business results.
Have the employee rate the level of authority according to the four levels listed above. Do the same from your perspective. Meet with the employee and review the list to compare perceptions. Just doing this exercise will generate a good discussion and clarify any misconceptions.
A fairly new employee may have many of their job functions at levels three and four, but a long-time employee should have more functions rated at levels one and two.
You may need to answer the following questions in order to properly delegate new authority levels to your employees.
What needs to happen in order for the authority level to increase? What do I need to do? What does the employee need to do?
As in my previous article, follow-up is key in any delegation project. Once it is clear how to delegate new authority you must follow-up to make sure that it’s working well and decisions are being taken correctly.
Conducting this exercise with each of you direct reports will help you delegate, make you a better leader and develop empowered employees.
Stephen Goldberg
