Delegating Work

Scope

Covers

• Delegating a specific project/problem/decision to a direct report (or cross-functional owner)
• Transferring context without control (clear outcomes + guardrails, not step-by-step instructions)
• Setting decision rights, check-in cadence, and "in-the-details" quality reviews without micromanaging

When to use

• "Help me delegate this project/task to someone on my team."
• "I'm holding onto too much / I need to give away my Lego."
• "I'm worried I'm micromanaging—how do I stay in the details but empower ownership?"
• "Draft a delegation brief + decision rights + check-in plan."

When NOT to use

• The work is primarily a performance problem (use coaching/feedback workflows instead)
• You need to decide what work to do (prioritization/scope first)
• You lack a clear outcome, constraints, or success criteria (do a quick problem-definition first)