Hand over a task properly by giving the goal, context, and the right level of authority, using a ladder of delegation levels.
The delegation ladder and a clean hand-over
How much authority are you actually giving?
Not all delegation looks the same. Researchers and practitioners have described a spectrum — sometimes called a continuum — of how much decision-making authority a manager transfers along with a task. The Tannenbaum-Schmidt continuum (1958) mapped this as a sliding scale from 'manager decides everything' to 'team decides everything.' Management 3.0 (Jurgen Appelo) turned it into seven named levels, from 'Tell' (I decide and inform you) through 'Sell,' 'Consult,' 'Agree,' 'Advise,' 'Inquire,' all the way to 'Delegate' (you decide, I trust you completely). These are tools for thinking, not rigid law.
A simple ladder for everyday use: Level 1 — do it exactly this way (you follow my instructions); Level 2 — research options and recommend, I decide; Level 3 — decide and act, then tell me; Level 4 — decide and act on your own, no check-in needed. The right level depends on the person's experience with this type of task and the stakes involved. A new hire handling a high-stakes client gets Level 1 or 2. A senior team member on a familiar process gets Level 3 or 4.
Even more important than the level is the quality of the hand-over conversation itself. A clean hand-over covers five things: the goal (what does success look like?), the why and context (why does this matter, how does it fit the bigger picture?), the boundaries (what is in and out of scope?), the decision rights (what can the person decide alone, what requires your sign-off?), and the check-in point (when and how will you touch base?). Skipping any of these is one of the most common causes of delegation going wrong. Transferring authority must be explicit — people cannot read your mind about how much room they have.
Lesson notes
How much authority are you actually giving?
Not all delegation looks the same. Researchers and practitioners have described a spectrum — sometimes called a continuum — of how much decision-making authority a manager transfers along with a task. The Tannenbaum-Schmidt continuum (1958) mapped this as a sliding scale from 'manager decides everything' to 'team decides everything.' Management 3.0 (Jurgen Appelo) turned it into seven named levels, from 'Tell' (I decide and inform you) through 'Sell,' 'Consult,' 'Agree,' 'Advise,' 'Inquire,' all the way to 'Delegate' (you decide, I trust you completely). These are tools for thinking, not rigid law.
A simple ladder for everyday use: Level 1 — do it exactly this way (you follow my instructions); Level 2 — research options and recommend, I decide; Level 3 — decide and act, then tell me; Level 4 — decide and act on your own, no check-in needed. The right level depends on the person's experience with this type of task and the stakes involved. A new hire handling a high-stakes client gets Level 1 or 2. A senior team member on a familiar process gets Level 3 or 4.
Even more important than the level is the quality of the hand-over conversation itself. A clean hand-over covers five things: the goal (what does success look like?), the why and context (why does this matter, how does it fit the bigger picture?), the boundaries (what is in and out of scope?), the decision rights (what can the person decide alone, what requires your sign-off?), and the check-in point (when and how will you touch base?). Skipping any of these is one of the most common causes of delegation going wrong. Transferring authority must be explicit — people cannot read your mind about how much room they have.