Authority, Responsibility and Accountability – The Right Mix
There is a wise saying, “Nothing is impossible if you can delegate.” People who know what, how and when to delegate can achieve great results for themselves, their team, and the organization.
Good delegation is about balancing responsibility with authority and accountability. But what exactly do these terms mean? The Business Dictionary defines them as follows:
Authority is “Institutionalized and legal power inherent in a particular job, function, or position that is meant to enable its holder to successfully carry out his or her responsibilities.”
It also defines authority as “Power that is delegated formally. It includes a right to command a situation, commit resources, give orders and expect them to be obeyed. It is always accompanied by an equal responsibility for one's actions or a failure to act.”
Responsibility is “A duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform or complete a task (assigned by someone, or created by one's own promise or circumstances) that one must fulfill, and which has a consequent penalty for failure.”
Accountability is “The obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.”
Clearly, authority and responsibility have accountability in common. Without accountability authority can abused and responsibility neglected. How do we ensure that these three elements are balanced? I suggest you consider the following:
Avoid giving more authority than the assignment requires. Although this sounds obvious, I have seen many situations where authority and assignment do not balance. I have worked on several projects where individuals were given authority in excess of their responsibility. While some managed to stay within their limits, others abused their influence by demanding results in excess of what the project team could possibly deliver with the available resources. When assigning authority always consider the responsibility that should come with it.
Avoid giving responsibility without assigning the authority to deliver the expected results. I have observed examples of this in organizations where line managers are not given the financial authority to undertake their work properly. Often the authority to reward and discipline for performance lies with senior staff rather than with the person responsible for the assignment.
When you delegate authority to a colleague, you are still responsible for the performance of this colleague. You remain accountable for the results even though they are delivered by employees several layers below you.
Ensure individuals have the competencies and the tools they need. Accountability becomes difficult if people are not in the right environment to achieve the results you desire. This includes providing the necessary competencies and tools to do the work.
Hold them accountable. Most of the poor performance I have observed is linked to lack of accountability. People who are not self-accountable or are not held accountable tend to go for the minimum they can get away with.
Stop interfering! Once you have delegated responsibility and authority, let the individual get on with it. It is necessary to have regular meetings to review progress, and to coach, mentor and advise, but resist the temptation to get into the details of how to do things or make decisions on their behalf. As General Patton said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
Reward for delivering excellent results. Many organizations reward people justly, yet many others do not. Those who do not feel recognized tend, over time, to become demotivated and your results will suffer.
Remember that you can only hold people accountable for responsibilities when they have been given enough authority to do the job well.
