What to delegate
- Anything a report could do at 80% of your quality — do it
- Anything that would grow a report if it stretched them — do it, with support
- Anything only you can do — keep it, and protect the time
Match the level of autonomy
- Level 1: You do it, they watch
- Level 2: They do it, you approve each step
- Level 3: They do it, you approve the plan
- Level 4: They do it, you review the outcome
- Level 5: They do it; you find out at 1:1
Set the debrief
For any Level 3 or above delegation, agree how you'll debrief — that's where the learning turns into capability.
Common pitfalls
- — Delegating at Level 5 to someone at Level 2 readiness. That's abandonment.
- — Never moving up the levels. That's control.
- — Skipping the debrief. Delegation without reflection is just task allocation.