--- When I first started managing a reasonably sized team, I faced typical teething problems most first-time managers encounter. To improve things, I decided to hire a coach. By working with my team and me, the coach identified a key issue: I sucked at helping my team understand how much autonomy they had, and when they needed to involve me. To solve this, my coach broke down delegation into 10 levels for me, each with its own nuances. Using this framework, she brought my team and me on the same page about how much they would do independently, and where I'd provide inputs. While I found the framework extremely useful, it was difficult to remember in the moment—I couldn’t exactly pull out an elaborate cheat sheet during conversations with colleagues. So, I developed a simpler approach, one that was easier to recall and apply[^1]. Here it is. --- # The four levels of delegation To effectively delegate, I think of each project or task in three stages: - **Assessment**: Evaluating and studying the situation - **Decision**: Deciding on the next steps - **Review**: Reviewing the decision for effectiveness and potential improvements Next, depending on the complexity of the task relative to the capabilities of the delegatee, I determine in which stages my involvement is helpful. This results in the following four levels: | Level of delegation | Assessment | Decision | Review | | ------------------- | ----------- | ----------- | ----------- | | 🔴 Low | Involve me | Involve me | Involve me | | 🟡 Medium | Do yourself | Involve me | Involve me | | 🟢 High | Do yourself | Do yourself | Involve me | | 🟣 Absolute | Do yourself | Do yourself | Do yourself | Here's a short explanation for each level: ### 🔴 Low The task is too complex for the delegatee’s current abilities. My support is needed at every stage. ### 🟡 Medium The delegatee is capable of assessing the situation but needs my guidance to make a good decision that's executable. ### 🟢 High The delegatee can assess the situation and make a decision, but I review their decision to identify any gaps or improvements before execution. ### 🟣 Absolute The delegatee is fully capable of assessing the situation, making a decision and executing independently, without any inputs from me. [^1]: Over the years, I’ve found this method to be simple but highly effective. I continue to use it myself, and recommend it to other managers in my team. However, its simplicity does come at the cost of some nuance, which is captured well in the [[10 Levels of Delegation|10-level framework]] my coach gave me.