Can you recall a situation in your work experience where inadequate authority was provided to you? Do you remember how you felt? Was the task you were delegated completed successfully? The different degrees of delegated authority can be broken down into four categories. These are

• no authority
• minimal authority
• medium authority, and
• absolute authority

There are certain variables you should examine before deciding on the level of authority you should grant when delegating tasks. Some of these variables are the experience and competence levels of the employees, and the importance of the relevant tasks.

No authority

It's appropriate not to grant any authority when a task is especially important or an employee is new or inexperienced. When no authority is granted, you make all of the decisions and closely monitor the employee's progress in completing the task.

When you take this approach, you'll need to determine responsibilities and set goals, plans, and standards for completing a task. The employee will need to submit frequent progress reports to you and consult you about any problems encountered before, during, or after task completion.

Minimal authority

It's best to grant minimal authority when an employee has some experience with the task to be completed but still requires substantial guidance and input from to complete the task successfully. So you still maintain most of the responsibility for making decisions about the task.

You also monitor progress in completing the task closely, although not as much as you would if you weren't granting any authority. You determine responsibilities, and you and the employee set goals and standards together. The employee must submit progress reports to you and should consult with you about most, but not all, issues.

Medium authority

When you grant medium authority, an employee will make some decisions independently and consult you only about difficult decisions or problems they can't solve on their own. You'll still need to determine the employee's responsibilities. The employee is then responsible for setting goals, plans, and standards and for providing you with periodic reports on how the task is progressing.

Absolute authority

It's appropriate to grant absolute authority when the employee to whom you're delegating a task has earned your trust and demonstrated competence with similar types of tasks in the past. The employee completing the task makes all of the decisions. In other words, you hand over most of the responsibility for task completion.

When you grant absolute authority,

• you and the employee determine responsibilities
• the employee sets goals, plans, and standards
• the employee will submit periodic reports, and
• the employee won't consult you about problem areas

If you know the different characteristics of the four levels of authority, you'll be better able to delegate tasks. You'll also be able to clarify your responsibilities and those of the employees you've assigned to complete the tasks.