"Failure to delegate causes managers to be crushed and fail under the weight of accumulated duties that they do not know and have not learned to delegate." (James D Mooney, "Onward Industry!", 1931)
"Delegation means the conferring of a specified authority by a higher authority. In its essence it involves a dual responsibility. The one to whom responsibility is delegated becomes responsible to the superior for doing the job. but the superior remains responsible for getting the Job done. This principle of delegation is the center of all processes in formal organization. Delegation is inherent in the very nature of the relation between superior and subordinate. The moment the objective calls for the organized effort of more than one person, there is always leadership with its delegation of duties." (James D Mooney, "The Principles of Organization", 1947)
"The only way for a large organization to function is to decentralize, to delegate real authority and responsibility to the man on the job. But be certain you have the right man on the job." (Robert E Wood, 1951)
"You can delegate authority, but you can never delegate responsibility by delegating a task to someone else. If you picked the right man, fine, but if you picked the wrong man, the responsibility is yours - not his." (Richard E Krafve, The Boston Sunday Globe, 1960)
"Centralized controls are designed to ensure that the chief executive can find out how well the delegated authority and responsibility are being exercised." (Ernest Dale, "Management: Theory and practice", 1965)
"Guidelines for bureaucrats: (1) When in charge, ponder. (2) When in trouble, delegate. (3) When in doubt, mumble." (James Boren, New York Times, 1970)
"We find that the manager, particularly at senior levels, is overburdened with work. With the increasing complexity of modern organizations and their problems, he is destined to become more so. He is driven to brevity, fragmentation, and superficiality in his tasks, yet he cannot easily delegate them because of the nature of his information. And he can do little to increase his available time or significantly enhance his power to manage. Furthermore, he is driven to focus on that which is current and tangible in his work, even though the complex problems facing many organizations call for reflection and a far-sighted perspective." (Henry Mintzberg, "The structuring of organizations", 1979)
"Do not delegate an assignment and then attempt to manage it yourself - you will make an enemy of the overruled subordinate." (Wess Roberts, "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun", 1985)
"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere." (Ronald Reagan, Fortune, 1986)
"People and organizations don't grow much without delegation and completed staff work because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses." (Stephen Covey, "Principle Centered Leadership", 1992)
"Responsibility is a unique concept [...] You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. [...] If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible." (Hyman G Rickover, "The Rickover Effect", 1992)
"We accomplish all that we do through delegation - either to time or to other people." (Stephen Covey, "Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People", 1994)
"The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels." (Eli Broad, "The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking", 2012)
"Delegation of authority is one of the most important functions of a leader, and he should delegate authority to the maximum degree possible with regard to the capabilities of his people. Once he has established policy, goals, and priorities, the leader accomplishes his objectives by pushing authority right down to the bottom. Doing so trains people to use their initiative; not doing so stifles creativity and lowers morale." (Thornas H Moorer)
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