How To Delegate

1. Delegation Levels

Agility, according to Jurgen Appelo, is moving back and forth between Command & Control and Self-Organization fast and easily, depending on the context. Your delegation level should adapt to the challenge. Here are the 7 levels: tell, sell, consult, agree, advise, inquire, and delegate.

Organizations are complex systems and research says that such systems often work best when control is distributed. This means, authority is pushed into all corners of the organizational network. However, many people prefer not to “lose control”. Therefore, in order to make them feel safe, we must give people the feeling that they have some control over their situation. That’s why a person wanting to delegate work to someone else can benefit from the use of the seven levels of delegation.

2. Commander's Intent

Delegate with with Commander's Intent

Step 1: Tell the what/intent

End state/purpose (stop al kaida, capture bin laden), Risks (close to the Pakistani border. Possible hostility)

Step 2: Test your intent

Ask the team to ask questions. Why it's important?

Step 3: Ask team to come up with solutions

Step 4: Define done together, reporting mechanism, demo the progress

Step 5: Retrospective