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Delegation decision matrix

Translate one task currently sitting on your plate into a clear delegated outcome — owner, outcome description, constraints, check-in cadence, success criterion. The version of delegation that doesn't produce a worse result than just doing it yourself.

Read the delegation topic first

When to use this

  • When you're a new manager still doing the work alongside leading.
  • When you notice your team waits on you for decisions they should be making.
  • Quarterly, even when not transitioning anything — to audit what work shouldn't be on your plate.

How to complete it

  • Pick one specific task. Vague ‘more leadership’ isn't delegatable.
  • Write the outcome (destination), not the method. Their version will be different from yours.
  • Constraints in writing. People aren't mind-readers; the constraints feel obvious only to you.
  • Cadence — specific dates / times / triggers. Frequent enough to catch problems early; rare enough to not micromanage.

Common mistakes

  • Delegating the task but not the outcome ownership.
  • Setting no cadence and then surprised when it's late.
  • Forgetting to specify what YOU stop doing now that this is delegated. Most failed delegations leave the manager still doing the work alongside.

Delegation decision matrix

Vinthony Academy · vinthony.com

1. The task being delegated.

Specific. Not “more leadership”; not “ownership of the function” — one concrete piece of work.

2. The owner.

By name. Why them.

3. The outcome.

What “done” looks like — specific enough that two reasonable people would agree it's done. Not the method, just the destination.

4. The constraints.

What can't be touched. Budget, timeline, stakeholders, existing commitments, brand / safety guardrails.

5. The check-in cadence.

Specific dates / times / triggers. Frequent enough to catch problems early; rare enough that you're not micromanaging.

6. Success criterion.

Behavioural, observable. Not “I'll know it when I see it.”

7. What you'll stop doing now that this is delegated.

Most failed delegations leave the manager still doing the work alongside. Name what you're actually stopping.