delegate authority to others

/ˈdelɪɡeɪt əˈθɔːrəti tuː ˈʌðərz/

Meaning

This formal phrase means to give decision-making power, control, or official responsibility to other people in an organization. Unlike just assigning simple tasks, delegating authority allows others to make final choices and take ownership of outcomes.

Examples

  • A successful executive knows when to delegate authority to others.

    A successful executive knows when to delegate authority to others.

  • The board of directors authorized the CEO to delegate authority to others during the transition.

    The board of directors authorized the CEO to delegate authority to others during the transition.

  • In a decentralized organization, managers frequently delegate authority to others.

    In a decentralized organization, managers frequently delegate authority to others.

  • She found it difficult to delegate authority to others because she preferred total control.

    She found it difficult to delegate authority to others because she preferred total control.

  • To scale the business, the founders had to learn to delegate authority to others.

    To scale the business, the founders had to learn to delegate authority to others.

Common Mistakes

  • ✗ The manager delegated authority with others to sign the contracts.

    ✓ The manager delegated authority to others to sign the contracts.

    The preposition 'to' is required to indicate who receives the delegated authority.

  • ✗ It is important to delegate authority others.

    ✓ It is important to delegate authority to others.

    You cannot omit the preposition 'to' when specifying the recipients of the delegated power.

Related Expressions

empower team membershand over controldecentralize decision-making

Practice

  • To build trust within your management team, you must be willing to ___.

    💡 Share decision-making power with your staff.

    Show answer

    delegate authority to others

  • He struggled to grow his startup because he refused to ___.

    💡 Give control and responsibility to his team.

    Show answer

    delegate authority to others