Most leaders I know agree that delegation is a good and necessary thing if they’re gonna run an effective organisation. But delegation is not a binary thing with micromanagement on one end and complete abdication of control on the other – there’s a sliding scale between the two. People will need you to cede control at a level that’s appropriate for them and their context. It can be helpful to think about this using The Seven Levels of Delegation.
Finding the right level of delegation is a balancing act. It depends on a team’s maturity level and the impact of its decisions. Distributed control in an organization is achieved when delegation of authority is pushed as far as possible into the system. However, circumstances may require that you start by telling or selling, gradually increasing the delegation level of team members and widening their territories. – Jurgen Appelo
The 7 Levels of Delegation
This is a symmetrical model that works in both directions. Level 2 is similar to level 6, when viewed from the opposite perspective. Likewise with all the others except Level 4 (Agree), where both parties have equal responsibility.
1️⃣ Tell
You make a decision for others and you may explain your motivation. A discussion about it is neither desired nor assumed. This is what micromanagers do. It’s often appropriate when the other person has very little expertise, confidence or context about the thing at hand and is therefore unlikely to understand if you try to sell to them.
2️⃣ Sell
You make a decision for others but try to convince them that you made the right choice, and you help them feel involved. This is only a small evolution on telling.
3️⃣ Consult
You ask for input first, which you take it into consideration before making a decision that respects people’s opinions. This is how a lot of more traditional managers tend to operate, and is often the optimal approach because while the other person feels involved, they carry no shared responsibility for the final decision.
4️⃣ Agree
You enter into a discussion with everyone involved, and as a group you reach consensus about the decision. This is how a lot of small teams operate, but the group has to be capable of reaching genuine consensus for this to work.
5️⃣ Advise
You will offer others your opinion and hope they listen to your wise words, but it will be their decision, not yours.
6️⃣ Inquire
You first leave it to the others to decide, and afterwards, you ask them to convince you of the wisdom of their decision. This is often a necessary step when developing someone towards delegate.
7️⃣ Delegate
You leave the decision to them and you don’t even want to know about details that would just clutter your brain.
