Delegation
Prepared by Miss Samah Ishtieh
8/1/2017
Miss Samah Ishtieh
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What is delegation?
Delegation is the process by which responsibility and
authority are transferred to another individual.
 Responsibility: an obligation to accomplish a task.
 Accountability: the act of accepting ownership for
the results or lack thereof.
 Authority is the second principle of delegation; is the
right to act or empower.

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Miss Samah Ishtieh
What is Delegation of Authority?
 Allowing
someone to act on your behalf to
perform tasks (consume resources) that are
available to you.
 Delegator should be empowered to delegate to
anyone he needs to, subject to certain
organisation controls (i.e. the organisation’s
Delegation Policy).
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Delegation
Is the process of entrusting because the supervisor
/administrator shares work and decisions with
others which he or she would otherwise carry alone.
 It is an effective management competency by which
nurse managers get the work done through their
employees.
 Accountability:
- When managers delegate they still remain
accountable for the actions of their subordinates.

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Potential Advantages:
Improvement of
decision quality
 Great subordinate
commitment
 Time management
 Job enrichment
 Development of
managerial talent

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Elements of Delegation
 Responsibility
 Authority
 Accountability
is the process of
establishing an obligation to make
decisions within set limits
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What to Delegate??
Tasks that can be done better by
subordinate
 Tasks that are urgent but not high
priority
 Tasks relevant to a subordinate’s
career
 Tasks of appropriate difficulty
 Both pleasant and unpleasant tasks
 Tasks not central to the manager’s
role

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Six Principles of Delegation
1. Know yourself and team members
2. Assess strengths, weaknesses, job,
situation and skills
3. Understand the state practice act,
limitations, and job descriptions
4. Know the job requirements
5. Keep communication clear, complete
and constant
6. Evaluate-review what
happened/measure results
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The need for delegation
1) Effective use of time end subordinates
The main reasons for delegation:
A- managers can having decided their priorities.
B- concentrate on the work of greatest importance.
C- leaving the work of lesser importance to be done
by others.
D- if delegation is set up effectively, the delegated
work may, in time , be actually performed better
by subordinate. This also motivating &
developing subordinates.
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2) Development of subordinates:
Managers are setting the pattern for
their subordinates to delegate in turn
down the line.
- Subordinates can deal with
emergencies.
- Help prepare subordinate for
promotion.
-
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Techniques for delegating:
 Nurse
manager at all levels can prepare a list
of duties that can be delegated.
 The
list of duties should be ranked by time
required to perform them and their
importance for the institution.
 Only
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one duty should be delegated at a time.
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Steps of Delegation
- Describe the task to be done
- Relay the description of the task
- Establish checkpoints
Policies and standards
 Allocate resources
 Time frame
 Rounds
- Establish dialogue before, during, and after for
feedback
 Clarification
 Attitude/ feeling of the staff delegated with the task

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Ways for successful delegation:
1- train & develop subordinates: give them reason for
the task, authority, details an written instruction if
needed.
2- control & coordinate the work of subordinates:
employees want to know the nurse leader's expectation
of them.
They understand expectation from clearly defined jobs,
work relationship and expected result.
3- visit subordinates frequently: spot potential problems
of morale and disagreement.
4- coordinate to prevent duplication of effort.
5- accept delegation as desirable.
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6- solve problems and think about new ideas: emphasize
employee's solving their own problems.
7- specify goals and objectives.
8- agree on performance standards.
9- know subordinate's capabilities and mach the task or
duty to the employee.
10- take an interest.
11- give appropriate reward.
12- don't take back delegation task.
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After you have been delegated
Keep your self informed
 Do not give specific
instructions
 If something goes wrong,
discuss it with the person
with whom you have
delegated

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When not to delegate
- Do not delegate the power to
discipline, responsibility for
maintaining morale, over all
control
- A hot potato jobs, that are too
technical or duties involving trust.
These are complicated areas of
nursing management requiring
specialized knowledge and skills.
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Barriers
- Barriers in the delegate:
1- lack of experience.
2- Lack of competence.
3- Avoidance of responsibility.
4- over dependence on the boss.
5- over load of the work.
6- Disorganization.
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Barriers
Barriers in the situation:
1- one – person – show policy.
2- no toleration of mistakes.
3- critically of decision.
4- urgency, leaving no time to explain.
5- confusion in authority & responsibility.
6- under staffing..
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Barriers
Barriers to the delegator:
1- Lack of experience in the job or in
delegating.
2- Fear of being disliked.
3- Refusal to allow mistakes.
4- Lack of confidence in subordinates.
5- Perfectionism, leading to excessive
control.
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Barriers with the delegator:
6- Demand that every one know all the details.
7- Failure to delegate authority commensurate with
responsibility.
8- Lack of organizational skills.
9- Insecurity.
10- Failure to establish effective control and follow
up.
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Miss Samah Ishtieh