A major contributor to empowerment is delegation, the assignment of formal authority and responsibility for accomplishing a specific task to another person. Without delegation, effective leadership and management cannot take place. Delegation becomes more important as more tasks need to be done, and those tasks are complex. To lead is to inspire and persuade others to accomplish tasks, not to accomplish everything by working alone.

Delegation is narrower than empowerment because it deals with a specific task, whereas empowerment covers a broad range of activities and a mental set about assuming more responsibility. Delegation, like empowerment, is motivational because it gives group members a chance to develop their skills and demonstrate their competence. Instead of delegation being simply a method for the manager or leader to lighten the personal workload, it becomes a developmental opportunity for the recipient of the delegated task.

When delegation is poor, conflict often erupts between the individual who thought he or she was responsible for a task and the delegator. A recommended way of making delegation effective is to specify how much accountability the person has for the assignment. Delegation often fails because the person assigned the task does not know the amount of his or her responsibility. When the person assigned the task is an issue owner, the person has complete control over the task or decision. Under such conditions, delegation and empowerment are equivalent.