Delegation, Responsibility and Accountability - Key Elements of Success

Many leaders of today struggle to distinguish between management and leading which makes it more difficult to apply the “when” the “how” of these managerial roles. I can say that with confidence because I experience it daily in my working environment. Leadership is one of the most important skills a manager should possess hence the performance of the business stems on the impact of the managers motivation and inspirational aptitude to its subordinates. There are fundamental elements of leadership which a leader should be able to apply within his/her workplace. The key elements are namely: delegation, responsibility and accountability. These elements are analysed in the essay, so I believe a manager cannot go without them because the one compliments the other. With the use of an example, the mentioned elements will be discussed.

According to Smith, P. J. delegation is the assigning or transferring of responsibility with the authority to subordinates to achieve the organizational goals. Delegation allows the leader to direct employees to perform certain duties. When delegating, it is vital to ensure that employees are skilled to perform the specified duties. So, the manager must make sure what the skills and abilities of its subordinates are before giving the orders, and a good manager should know how to effectively train his/her workers. Delegating responsibility to subordinates and allowing them to make decisions, but you as the manager still holds the final say is an example in which delegation can be done. This type of delegation gives subordinates the ability to decide but must realise the final option lies with the manager. When applying this type of delegation, communication must be a vital and the information needs to be conveyed in a simple and transparent manner. Communication should be clear and effective; oral and written. The other important skills a leader should possess when delegating is to listen to subordinates, giving feedback, be effective in time management and be a competent trainer. Just briefly, Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard were the first authors to describe the delegating leadership style in the 1960’s. Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. explains that the delegating leadership style are based on increasing work satisfaction, encourage self-motivation and requires leaders to take responsibility on the results.

Responsibility and accountability are terms used interchangeably and synonymously in so many areas of our lives. Smith, P. J. et al. defines responsibility as the “obligation of employees to attain organisational goals by performing specified activities, typically defined by their job description” and “accountability is the evaluation of how well individuals meet their responsibilities”. The outcome or the performance of the department is still the sole responsibility of the manager. At the end, the leader is accountable for everything. The manager can also analyse the commitment and reliability of subordinates using accountability. Responsibility essentially is the duty to respond and ensuring a task gets completed. The responsibility can be shared amongst a team. Multiple people can be responsible for achieving a specific goal. Hence the fact, that responsibility is more task oriented. Accountability on the other hand is the ability or duty to report or give account of tasks. There is a higher risk when more than one person takes account for tasks. In view of this, accountability is more results oriented.

So how does responsibility and accountability work together? A production manager of a clothing factory leads a team of sixty people and are accountable for all their work which must leave the warehouse. Each employee received their part of the job, so this makes it their responsibility to complete the task. If any of these products are perceived to be defective or of low quality from the client, it will now be the manager’s duty to take account of these failures. No proper evaluation or quality checks was performed. This is the kind relationship that exists between responsibility and accountability.  

In conclusion, I believe that delegation, responsibility and accountability - are the main, fundamental elements for successful leadership. Applying these skills as a leader will be beneficial in the performance of the business or the organization. Delegation, responsibility and accountability should be applied within each workplace to gain success.