7 Levels of Decision-Making Delegation

Delegation is a vital practice for leadership teams, but it can be an uncomfortable one to put into practice.  Refusing to delegate can result in overloaded managers and missed learning and growth opportunities for team members.

The Management 3.0 philosophy identifies seven levels of delegation:

1. Tell – I (the manager) will make the decision and tell the team
2. Sell – I will make the decision and try to sell it to the team
3. Consult – I will consult with the team and then decide
4. Agree – The team and I will agree together
5. Advise – I will advise the team but they will decide
6. Inform – The team will decide and inform me afterwards
7. Delegate – The team will decide and does not need to inform me

Different teams and different decisions require different delegation approaches.  Consider creating a working agreement with your team that outlines decisions that may need to be made, and the approach that will be used for each of those decisions.