Delegation versus empowerment: what, how, and is there a difference?
Delegation--or empowerment--represents the essence of the supervisory task: getting things done through people. The terms are no different from each other; empowerment is simply delegation done properly. The process still fails for the same old reasons, and failure still causes the same kinds of problems. Delegation or empowerment involves authority; it is authority that is delegated, not responsibility, as commonly claimed. Under either name it is an imperfect process requiring subjective judgments and chronic risk. Although either label is acceptable--the few differences between delegation and empowerment are semantic only--the significant constant that must be present is a sense of task ownership on the part of the empowered employee.
Genesee Hospital, Rochester, NY, USA.
C R
CR
McConnell
D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000592:standards; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D007857:Leadership; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010559:Personnel Management / Q000592:standards*; D011209:Power, Psychological; D013192:Staff Development; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014481:United States