According to Newman and Warren, the delegation process consists of three steps, all of which may be either observable or implied.³¹ The first step is assigning specific duties to the individual. In all cases, the manager must be sure that the subordinate assigned to the specific duties has a clear understanding of what these duties entail. Whenever possible, the activities should be stated in operational terms so that the subordinate knows exactly what actions must be taken to perform the assigned duties. The second step of the delegation process involves granting the appropriate authority to the subordinate—that is, the subordinate must be given the right and power within the organization to accomplish the duties assigned. The last step involves creating the obligation for the subordinate to perform the duties assigned. The subordinate must be aware of his or her responsibility to complete the duties assigned and must accept that responsibility. Table 9.3 offers several guidelines managers can follow to ensure the success of the delegation process.

Obstacles that can make delegation within an organization difficult or even impossible can be classified into three general categories: (1) obstacles related to the supervisor, (2) obstacles related to subordinates, and (3) obstacles related to organizations.

An example of the first category is the supervisor who resists delegating his authority to subordinates because he cannot bear to part with any authority. Two other supervisor-related obstacles are the fear that subordinates will not do a job well and the suspicion that surrendering some authority may be seen as a sign of weakness. Moreover, if supervisors are insecure in their jobs or believe certain activities are extremely important to their personal success, they may find it hard to put the performance of these activities into the hands of others.

Supervisors who do want to delegate to subordinates may encounter several subordinate-related roadblocks. First, subordinates may be reluctant to accept delegated authority because they are afraid of failing, lack self-confidence, or feel the supervisor doesn’t have confidence in them.³² These obstacles will be especially apparent in subordinates who have never before used delegated authority. Other subordinate-related obstacles are the fear that the supervisor will be unavailable for guidance when needed and the reluctance to exercise authority that may complicate congenial working relationships.³³

Characteristics of the organization itself may also make delegation difficult. For example, a very small organization may present the supervisor with only a minimal number of activities to be delegated. In organizations where few job activities and little authority have been delegated in the past, an attempt to initiate the delegation process may make employees uncooperative and apprehensive because the supervisor is introducing a significant change in procedure—and change is often strongly resisted.³⁴

Because delegation has significant advantages for an organization, eliminating obstacles to the delegation process is something managers must do. Among the advantages of delegation are enhanced employee confidence, improved subordinate involvement and interest, more free time for the supervisor to accomplish tasks, and, as the organization gets larger, assistance from subordinates in completing tasks the manager simply doesn’t have time for. True, there are potential disadvantages to delegation—such as the possibility that the manager will lose track of the progress of a delegated task—but the potential advantages of some degree of delegation generally outweigh the potential disadvantages.³⁵

What can managers do to eliminate obstacles to the delegation process? First of all, they must continually strive to uncover any obstacles to delegation. Then they should approach taking action to eliminate these obstacles with the understanding that they may be deeply ingrained and therefore might require much time and effort to overcome. Among the most effective managerial actions that can be taken to eliminate obstacles to delegation are building subordinate confidence in the use of delegated authority, minimizing the impact of delegated authority on established working relationships, and helping delegatees cope with problems whenever necessary.³⁶

Koontz, O’Donnell, and Weihrich believe that overcoming the obstacles to delegation requires managers to have certain critical characteristics. These characteristics include the willingness to seriously consider the ideas of others, the insight to allow subordinates the free rein necessary to carry out their responsibilities, the capacity to trust subordinates’ abilities, and the wisdom to allow people to learn from their mistakes rather than instituting unreasonable penalties because they made mistakes. Frequently, the lack of such personal attributes in a manager spells the difference between a productive, cohesive team and one that is perennially dysfunctional.³⁷