'Upward Delegation' - and how to avoid it

Unleash the power of disciplined initiative

Upward delegation is the phenomenon where a person passes responsibility for their work back to the person who originally delegated the task.

Delegate - (verb) to entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person who is less senior than oneself.

An example of upward delegation would be an employee presenting a complex problem to the leader, expecting the leader to not only provide guidance but also actively take on the responsibility of finding a solution.

At the heart of delegation is ‘trust’ - of which a key component is competence, i.e., I have a responsibility to deliver something but I’m going to delegate that responsibility to another person who I deem competent enough to complete the action.

Central to that trust is a leader’s willingness to place their vulnerability in the hands of someone else. They’ve delegated the responsibility but not the accountability if things go wrong.

It’s this tension that manifests itself in a number of ways:

DON’T DELEGATE KEY TASKS

This is a very common phenomenon and usually results in the leader failing to properly fulfil their own responsibilities. This is outcome is exaggerated if the organisational culture is focused on blame and retribution when things go wrong.

Where this is the case, leaders throughout the organisation will hold onto responsibilities which should have been delegated further down the chain, with all the negative consequences that flow from such behaviour.

MICRO-MANAGEMENT

In this scenario the leader does delegate the responsibility but only in name. They are constantly looking over the shoulder of the person to whom they have delegated the task. Their behaviour is characterised by over-supervision, the need for constant reports, overly detailed instructions, being copied into every email and requiring constant updates on minute details.

Such a leader often creates a dependency relationship, especially where they have an explicit expectation around HOW they want the task to be accomplished.

In such circumstances the delegated individual is expected to replicate exactly HOW the leader would have behaved.

Now imagine the situation where the delegated individual encounters a situation which is unexpected and about which the person has not received explicit directions.

This is where ‘upward delegation’ really kicks in as the person has to go back to the leader for directions or, because of their own limited operational parameters, ‘delegate’ the task to their leader.

OVER-RELIANCE ON REMIT DESCRIPTION

This is possibly the most common problem with delegation. This is where a leader provides no clarity about their expectations.

They don’t provide any context or explain why the role is critical to the organisations purpose, or what the leader regards as being a positive end-state. They don’t place any guardrails around the person to who they are delegating tasks and justify this behaviour by expressing their trust in other people.

This sounds ideal but it often results in ‘upward delegation’ especially in relation to critical issues.

From a personal perspective I think that this was my own achilles heel. I made many significant appointments earlier in my public service career yet rarely did I set out my expectations after their appointment. Such behaviour was driven by an over-reliance on providing people with a level of autonomy with which I would have been comfortable.

REPLACE ‘INCOMPETENT’ PEOPLE

In some situations leaders have the financial wherewithal to be able to replace anyone about whom they have questions surrounding competence. This sounds an attractive option as it implies that the replacement can make the leader less vulnerable and the organisation more successful.

Of course the problem lies in what we deem to be incompetence. It also implies that new appointees will be able to operate independently, whereas upward delegation may be the consequence of the leader’s behaviour, and therefore be replaced by the new appointees.

”STOP BRINGING ME PROBLEMS, BRING ME SOLUTIONS”

It’s a recurring theme from leaders when they complain about such behaviour “Why do people keep bringing me problems instead of solutions”.

If you’re hearing that then perhaps it’s time to step back and examine how you delegate responsibility to others.

DISCPLINED INITIATIVE

Our work in creating a scaffolding for leaders to enable others to operate with ‘disciplined initiative’ is proving very effective in tackling this problem.

Disciplined Initiative is a dynamic leadership approach that balances controlled behaviour with independent action, unlocking immense potential within organisations. By combining discipline with initiative, leaders empower individuals to make decisions aligned with strategic goals without micromanagement.

This approach fosters an environment where autonomy and responsibility coexist. Leaders articulate the what and why of tasks, provide boundaries, and maintain open dialogue, ensuring that team members can act independently within strategic frameworks. This not only prevents operational congestion at the leadership level but also enhances the organisation's adaptability and resilience, preparing for future challenges .

Authority is the power to delegate tasks to others. As such, authority is something that usually flows downwards in an organisation.

Responsibility refers to the obligation to carry out a specific task. A leader can use their authority to delegate responsibility for a task to another person. It is possible to break up a task and delegate different parts to different people.

Accountability is the obligation of an individual to be answerable to the person or group who delegated the task. Accountability usually flows upwards, i.e., to the person/group who gave the person the authority to act.

How to avoid Upward Delegation using the Ceannas Scaffolding:

1. Establish Strategic Intent

• Define the what and why of tasks you delegate to your team. Clearly communicating the strategic purpose behind a task empowers individuals to make decisions aligned with the organisational goals, rather than relying on you for approval or direction.

2. Craft a Strategic Narrative

• Communicate a compelling story that describes the desired outcome and its significance within the larger organisational mission. This clarity helps your team understand the broader impact of their actions and encourages them to take initiative in line with the strategic narrative .

3. Define Freedoms and Constraints

• Set clear boundaries that include organisational values, financial limits, and regulatory guidelines. Providing these guardrails enables employees to operate autonomously yet within defined parameters, reducing reliance on higher-level decision-making .

4. Foster an Open Dialogue

• Establish channels for regular communication, allowing for questions and clarifications. This ensures team members are confident in their responsibilities and decisions, preventing issues from being unnecessarily escalated to leadership .

5. Encourage Ownership and Accountability

• Empower your team by delegating responsibility along with authority. Make it clear that accountability is shared, fostering a sense of ownership over tasks and reducing the tendency to defer decisions upward .

6. Align with the Organisation’s Strategic Intent

• Align leaders' strategic intent at each organisational level so that there's a consistent direction throughout, i.e., nesting one within and an other and so on. This coherence ensures that everyone understands and supports higher-level objectives while exercising their initiative .

7. Build Leadership Scaffolding for Initiative

• Develop a leadership framework akin to scaffolding to support disciplined initiative. This allows team members to take independent action informed by shared organisational values and strategic goals, reducing the burden on leaders to make every decision .