Delegation of Responsibilities: A Leadership Tool for Subordinates’ Competence Development in Selected Organisations in Ibadan Metropolis

Abstract

Delegation of responsibilities constitutes a very important ingredient of good leadership in organisations and is critical to competence development of workers. However, experience shows that many leaders are unwilling to delegate responsibilities to their subordinates for a number of reasons. This study was therefore designed to investigate delegation of responsibilities as a tool for competence development of subordinates in selected organisations in Ibadan metropolis. The study, anchored on Elkem’s model, was descriptive and adopted survey research design with a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It was conducted on 206 respondents randomly selected from 20 public and private organisations in Ibadan. Questionnaire and IDI were instruments of data collection, while the data collected were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The study showed that respondents perceived delegation of responsibilities as a vital tool for developing, equipping and motivating subordinates; and that it had positive effects on subordinates’ performance (X2 = 11.14, p-value = 0.001). The study also revealed that lack of confidence in subordinates (79%), level of skill and competence (66%), organisational climate (68%) and bureaucracy (58%) were barriers to delegation of responsibilities. Delegation of responsibilities is a cost-free way of enhancing competence development of subordinates in organisations, and should therefore, be encouraged among leaders irrespective of their levels.