Subordinates

Subordinates, commonly known as employees, staff, or team members, can be defined as those individuals within an organization who occupy positions of lower authority, responsibility, or rank in relation to others in a hierarchical chain of command. Usually, subordinates report to individuals who have a higher rank, such as supervisors, managers, or executives, and are responsible for fulfilling the assigned duties, implementing the instructions and contributing to the completion of team or organizational goals. The term "subordinates" is mostly used in hierarchical companies to differentiate individuals of lower authority from those of higher authority.

Example of Subordinates

In a corporate office environment, a group of marketing professionals work under the marketing manager’s direction and supervision. The marketing manager is responsible for monitoring the activities, projects, the initiatives of the marketing team, and he/she provides the management, the direction, and the support of the team members to achieve the marketing objectives and the targets.

The marketing workers that report to the marketing manager: marketing coordinators, graphic designers, content writers, and digital marketers are the subordinates. They report to the marketing manager as well as to each other and work together to execute marketing campaigns, promotions, and initiatives spanning different channels and platforms.

The marketing manager assigns tasks, set priorities, and communicates with team members of the marketing team, which are responsible for performing their job within the given time and quality standards. The members of the marketing team get the leadership, the guidance, and the resources needed from the marketing manager to do their duties well and thereby make the marketing department and the organization successful.