What can and cannot be delegated to project managers in construction and development?

The author describes two opposing positions: project managers justifiably complain that they lack authority—they do not choose contractors, set the budget, or recruit the team—while owners have valid concerns about corruption risks. On a RUB 10 billion budget, a potential 2% in “skimming” amounts to RUB 200 million, so owners are prepared to delegate only a limited range of decisions. There is no universal solution: the right allocation of authority depends on the company, its organizational structure, and the number of projects. The author offers two sets of practical recommendations. Project managers should accept that large-scale projects will not give them blanket authority, but earn trust through effective work to obtain exceptions to the rules. Owners should agree on authority upfront and record the arrangements in writing, while emphasizing substantial bonuses for final results rather than a high salary, motivating people willing to take risks without full control. The key takeaway is that professionalism and trust can reconcile tight control with the necessary flexibility—and, above all, the rules of the game must be agreed before work begins.

Key principles in project management: unity of command (a single person responsible for the result is the project manager) and personal responsibility.

These principles work very effectively, but when they are implemented in practice, problems arise. the eternal dispute about the powers of the project manager.

"How can I be responsible for the result if I don't choose contractors, don't create a budget and don't recruit a team myself?? - project managers often say. And, in fact, they are right. I know many cases when the RP was appointed without any authority, and it ended in failure. There should be no responsibility without authority - this is obvious.

But there is another side to the coin.

"I will lose 5 million rubles a day on bank interest alone if the project deadlines are shifted. And in general, I, as the owner of the company, am responsible with my money for everything that happens in its projects. How does the Project Manager REALLY respond? He works today and quits tomorrow", - the owner of one development company told me.

In addition, there is an issue that is usually not discussed - corruption risks. Let's say the project budget is 10 billion rubles (the real figure for an average project). Let's say that the Republic of Poland can "pocket" 2% of this budget - that's 200 million rubles. This is an order of magnitude more than RP's salary and bonuses combined. Is there a risk that the RP will work on half of the project for his personal interests, abandon the project and go to live in the Maldives? Obviously, there is such a risk.

Everyone has their own truth: both the project manager and the owner of the company.

This one has perfect resolution there is no contradiction - here you need to find a balance, or, if you like, "find the lesser evil."

There are also no universal solutions to the issue under discussion - the optimal set of powers of the RP depends on the specifics of the Company, its organizational structure, the number of projects, project budgets and other factors. But in general I can say the following:

Project managers:

In real life, no one will give you turnkey powers in a major project. Perhaps this is unfair, but this is the objective reality. The budget and contracts will be agreed upon by the owner, the requirements for the development project will be issued by a product specialist, payments will be agreed upon by the financial service, etc. As a result, some of the decisions affecting the project will be beyond your control. In such conditions, working with motivation for the final result is always a risk. But only those who are ready to take this risk become an effective project manager. As for authority, then if you work effectively and do not give reasons not to trust you, then they will meet you and deviate from the approved rules in some places.

To owners/managers of companies:

Remember, a professional project manager, motivated by the end result, is a colossal force and a huge resource for your business. The specific set of powers of the RP may be different, but the main thing is to agree on them "on the shore": calmly, patiently and in a civilized manner. Record agreements on paper.

And one more thing. A project manager should have very significant bonuses for achieving project success. There is no need to give a astronomical salary (this may rather work out negatively), we are talking about a bonus for achieving the final result. Not everyone will be ready to work under such conditions (waiting 2-3 years for a bonus in conditions where not everything depends on you), but those who are ready, bet on them.