5 Levels of Remarkably Effective Delegation

Source: https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/5-levels-of-remarkably-effective-delegation.html

The 5 Levels (AR DM F)

  1. Assess and Report
  2. Recommend
  3. Develop Action Plan
  4. Make the Decision
  5. Full Delegation

“Your most important task as a leader is to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the world doesn’t go to hell if you take a day off.” - Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor, Stanford Business School

Master these 5 levels of delegation and I (and my people) will be far more effective.

As employees succeed in a level, move them up to the next level. As they move up each level, they should have mastered the skills in all the previous levels.

At all levels, I should let employees know what I have decided and how I came to that decision. Explaining my **thought process** to employees will be an **investment** towards moving them to the decision-making levels.

Level 1 Delegation: Assess and Report

Task: Collection of information and assessment of an opportunity, issue, or problem.

For new and inexperienced employees.

Steps:

  1. Set expectations with my employee.
  2. Clearly define the task.
  3. Explain my employee’s role as well as my own, and
  4. Discuss deadlines and check-in points.

Once reports have been submitted, review them and then decide on any additional actions.

Level 2 Delegation: Recommend

Task: Employees are still responsible for Level 1 work, but will be expected to also develop possible solutions and recommend–and justify–the best one.

Review possible solutions, test the quality of the recommendation, and then make the decision on how to implement it.

Level 3 Delegation: Develop Action Plan

Task: Development of a specific action plan to implement the recommended solution.

Steps:

  1. Clearly define the task.
  2. Explain their expected role as well as my own.
  3. Discuss deadlines and check-in points.

It’s up to me to define my expectations for the form and substance of the report.

Once the plan has been submitted

  • review it
  • approve it
  • oversee the implementation of the plan

Since the plan will likely involve them in executing the plan, I might consider also delegating some of the implementation tasks–at the appropriate level, of course.

Level 4 Delegation: Make The Decision

Task: Hand over responsibility for decision making to my employee.

If employees progress to this level too quickly or are not fully up to speed, I may find myself micromanaging their work, which undermines my good work in delegation.

Steps:

  1. Make sure employees understand that they are still responsible for Level 3 work, but that I trust them to make the decision.
  2. Make sure they know that they know I am available to coach and support them, but I expect them to act independently.
  3. Monitor progress regularly by asking for regular check-ins, reviewing the status of the projects, and warning employees when I sense problems, and
  4. Be ready to reward great results.

Also start thinking about how to use the time I have freed up by successfully delegating a task!

Level 5 Delegation: Full Delegation

Task: Turn the task over to my employees completely.

Before I delegate at Level 5, however, employee decision-making must be consistently sound.

Steps:

  1. Make sure employees understand that I trust them to
    • decide
    • act
    • follow-through
  2. Tell them to report back to me with exceptions and unique problems, but otherwise, it’s their task and they are fully accountable for its successful completion, and
  3. Be ready to reward great results, including a promotion to employees who reach Level 5 with multiple tasks.

Employees will sometimes make mistakes, and that’s okay, but help my employees learn from them.

For those individuals who just don’t cut it, decide if they can make contributions at lower levels, or should be terminated.