Polk on Delegation
James K. Polk isn’t the first president to come to mind for most Americans on “President’s Day.” I was, however, looking for a quote from him for this year’s President’s Day, because he grew up in Middle Tennessee not too far from where I grew up.
Polk was our 11th president. He sometimes gets mixed reviews, but overall, he’s regarded as one of our good presidents. At the very least, he was one of our unusual presidents, since he didn’t seek reelection.
One quote I found relates to some extent to the workplace. While I don’t agree with Polk’s approach to supervision, it may explain why he decided to serve only one term.
“I prefer to supervise the whole operations of Government myself rather than entrust the public business to subordinates, and this makes my duties very great.”
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About Chris Parker
Chris Parker's practice focuses on the representation and counseling of companies in matters pertaining to the workplace and the protection of their intellectual property and trade secrets. In addition to serving as an advocate for clients, Mr. Parker is also trained as a mediator and frequently serves as a third-party neutral.
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Jimmy Daniel provides counseling to businesses of all sizes related to the employment relationship. He assists in the drafting of employment agreements, policies, and handbooks, as well as provides guidance related to compliance with federal, state, and local legislation such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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While serving in an Of Counsel relationship with the firm, Mr. Bridgesmith also serves as the Executive Director at the Institute for Conflict Resolution at Lipscomb University and as an officer and principal in Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC. In these roles, Mr. Bridgesmith brings over 30 years of legal experience in dispute resolution and innovative workplace strategies to clients, students and business entities alike.
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George Lenard Says:
Understandably,this sounds like a most impractical approach, whether for a president or CEO.
There are, however, dangers in the opposite approach as well. The man or woman at the top is chosen to mold and shape the entire organization (nation or business), and he or she is where “the buck stops.”
Complete reliance on delegation to immediate subordinates, however well qualified, in a large hierarchy risks failure as the top-level goals get diluted and distorted as they filter down.
Sometimes the top person would do well to choose a particular issue and “drill down” to supervise a bit more closely at lower levels.
I thought this was one interesting aspect of the first episode of “Undercover Boss,” as the CEO, by working front-line jobs, discovered a number of practices, good and bad, meriting policy changes from the top, that he would never have learned of through a conventional hierarchical-delegation supervisory approach to the large organization.
February 15th, 2010 at 11:23 am e
John Phillips Says:
George,
Thanks for your comment. All good points. Neither the control freak nor the laissez-faire boss provides the kind of leadership most employees do best under.
John
February 15th, 2010 at 11:35 am e