Week 29 Day 7: Assignment: Redesign Your Next Delegation Using the Full Framework

Identify one piece of work you need to delegate in the next two weeks. Before you hand it off, prepare a complete delegation package using the principles from this week. Include the why, not just the what. Choose the appropriate delegation level. Plan the check-in cadence. Prepare the context transfer.

Here is the delegation design template. Fill this out before the handoff conversation. Section one -- the what: describe the deliverable in concrete terms. What will the finished work look like? What is the Definition of Done (from Week 28)? Section two -- the why: explain the purpose and context. Why does this work matter? What happens if it is not done? How does it connect to the larger initiative? What will the recipient need this context for? Section three -- the delegation level: choose level one, two, or three based on the recipient's experience with this type of work and the risk profile. Write down which level you chose and why. Section four -- the context transfer: use the 'If I Were Doing This' exercise from Day 2. Write down how you would approach the work, what you would watch out for, who you would talk to, and what you know from experience that the recipient might not know. Section five -- authority and boundaries: what decisions can the recipient make independently? What requires consultation? What requires escalation? Be specific. Section six -- resources: what tools, access, documentation, budget, and people are available? Do not assume the recipient knows about resources you have been using. Section seven -- check-in plan: based on the delegation level, define the check-in cadence, timing, and questions. Schedule the check-ins in both calendars before the work begins. Section eight -- success criteria: how will both you and the recipient know the work was successful? After the delegation is complete, retrospect: did the framework produce a better outcome than your usual approach? What would you adjust? Add the completed template to your Leadership Operating Manual as a delegation case study.

The delegation design template integrates multiple evidence-based frameworks into a single operational tool. The structure implements what project management research calls a 'project charter' (PMI, 2017) -- a document that formally authorizes the project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources. Research by Thomas and Mullaly (2008) on the value of project management found that the charter process -- specifically, the act of defining scope, authority, and success criteria before work begins -- reduced project failure rates by 28% across 65 organizations studied. The 'If I Were Doing This' exercise draws on research by Gary Klein (1998) on 'cognitive task analysis' -- a methodology for eliciting expert knowledge by asking experts to mentally simulate their approach to a task. Klein found that cognitive task analysis captured 65-80% of the critical decision points that experts typically fail to communicate in standard briefings. The authority-and-boundaries section implements what organizational theorists call 'role clarity' (Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman, 1970), with their research demonstrating that role ambiguity is the single strongest predictor of job dissatisfaction, anxiety, and propensity to leave -- and that role clarity interventions (explicit statements of authority and boundaries) reduce all three by 25-40%. The retrospective step converts the delegation into what Kolb (1984) calls an 'experiential learning cycle' -- concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation -- ensuring that each delegation improves the quality of subsequent delegations.