Leadership

Delegation

Transfer ownership rather than merely assign a task.

Handing a piece of work to somebody.

Intent · Application framework · No. 123

The problem it addresses

Delegation fails when the leader says only please do this. The person may know the task without knowing what success means, what they own, what authority they have, what the constraints are, when support is available, or when progress gets reviewed.

The shape

Outcome
Responsibility
Authority
Constraints
Support
Checkpoint

A worked example

Outcome: I need the client migration completed by Friday.
Responsibility: You own the migration plan and the coordination.
Authority: You can allocate the two engineers assigned to it.
Constraints: We cannot affect the production window.
Support: If you need more resource, come to me before Wednesday.
Checkpoint: We review progress Thursday morning.

You have it right when

The person could start without asking a single clarifying question.

What usually goes wrong

Giving the outcome and the constraints but no authority, which is not delegation. It is assigning blame in advance.

Mostly serves Intent, and reaches into Message and Connection.

A framework tells you what shape the answer takes. It cannot tell you whether shape is what you are short of, and for most people it is not. Which one is yours, and whether a framework is the right instrument at all, is what a Discovery Call is for.

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