Leadership delegation

The problems did not entirely reside with the purveyors. Difficulty also came from the nature of the Confederate government itself. The lessons learned by the delegates at Philadelphia s Constitutional Convention about a weak and ineffective confederacy of states were not impressed upon the Southern leadership. As if the South did not have enough handicaps, interstate cooperation that was assumed as a matter of course in the Union war effort was a constant challenge south of the Mason-Dixon. As one recent historian of the Confederacy has pointed out,... 

The OEC are named at the annual meeting of the association s House of Delegates, which meets once a year at NCPA s Annual Convention. Officers and Executive Committee members typically serve a period of 12 to 14 years in association leadership as each moves up the ladder of responsibility (for example, from fifth Vice-President to fourth Vice-President, service on the Executive Committee, President-Elect to President). 

Management support alone will not be sufficient Personal management action and leadership are required. Management obligations cannot be delegated. 

The leaders able to change their reactions to error are the ones able to advance a culture of safety. The Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety (2002) defined reduction of medical error as a leadership imperative and an executive responsibility that cannot be delegated. These leaders identified the following requirements to advance safety ... 

Leadership and facilitation styles (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating)... 

Appendix B, Roles and Responsibilities, is an excellent reference from which excerpts may be taken to define roles, assign responsibilities, establish accountabilities, and delegate authority as suitable to an entity s needs. The data cover the following employment categories President, Chief Executive Officer, Owner Executive Officers, Vice Presidents, and other Senior Leadership Directors, Managers, and Department Heads Supervisors Employees and Health and Safety Department. 

There has been a fair sort of transition in leadership with the Senior Management team very heavily focused on the team concept and the delegation of authority. I ve found that my leadership style had to change fairly significantly. (Middle Manager)... 

Each level of leadership should be held accountable for ensuring that channels of communication remain open in all directions about safety concerns and issues. Refer to Chapter 7, Leadership and the Effective Safety Culture , for a discussion on defining roles, responsibility, delegation, authority, and accountability for everyone in the organization (Building an Effective Health and Safety Management System, 1989). 

In most organizations, the traditional pyramid of responsibilities is in place where each level of leadership is held accountable for the goals and objectives of its subordinates. The senior leadership team delegates the activities needed to meet its goals and objectives to individuals whose expertise or areas of authority provide the best path to completion. Each level of leadership retains responsibility for completion of the assigned goals. 

Delegation is more than just passing the buck to a subordinate, telling them to do what you need to do . Leadership is still responsible for the results and cannot totally blame the subordinate if things go wrong. The leadership must still be involved through periodic reports, performance reviews, and face-to-face discussions to assess the status of what has been delegated. 

Effective implementation of a safety management system is a leadership team s responsibility. As an in-depth system must reach all levels of the organization, the leadership team should actively involve all employees of the organization in the process. To reach the real potential of a system, it is important that roles, responsibility, delegation, and authority for safety-related assignments are clearly defined and coupled with a strong accountability structure. 

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