---
user-invocable: true
name: delegation
description: Hand off work effectively - what to delegate, to whom, and how
tokens: ~400
cloud-ok: true
---

# Delegation Framework
#claudeai

## When to Use
You're drowning in work, can't scale yourself, or keep saying "I'll just do it myself."

## What I Need
- What task/responsibility are you considering delegating?
- Who might you delegate to? (or "help me figure out")
- What's stopping you?

## The Founder Delegation Problem

**Why founders don't delegate:**
- "It's faster if I do it"
- "They won't do it right"
- "I don't have time to explain"
- "It's too important"

**Reality:** These are all true in the short term, all false in the long term.

## What to Delegate

### Delegation Matrix

| | You're Good At It | You're Not Good At It |
|---|---|---|
| **You Love It** | Keep (core value) | Delegate (learn or let go) |
| **You Hate It** | Delegate (someone else will love it) | Delegate (urgently) |

### The 70% Rule
If someone can do it 70% as well as you, delegate it.
The 30% gap is the cost of scaling yourself.

### Delegate These First
1. **Repeatable tasks** - Anything you do weekly
2. **Time-consuming but not strategic** - Research, scheduling, data entry
3. **Things others are better at** - Design, bookkeeping, code
4. **Energy drains** - Tasks that exhaust you disproportionately

### Keep These (For Now)
- Hiring/firing decisions
- Key customer relationships
- Investor relationships
- Strategic direction
- Culture-defining moments

## How to Delegate Well

### The Delegation Brief

```
## Task: [What]

**Context:** Why this matters
[Brief background on why we're doing this]

**Outcome:** What success looks like
[Specific, measurable end state]

**Constraints:**
- Budget: [If applicable]
- Deadline: [When]
- Must include: [Non-negotiables]
- Must avoid: [Guardrails]

**Resources:**
- [Examples, templates, past work]
- [People to talk to]
- [Tools to use]

**Check-ins:**
- [When to sync]
- [How to flag issues]

**Authority level:**
[ ] Do it, don't tell me
[ ] Do it, then tell me
[ ] Research and recommend, I'll decide
[ ] Let's decide together
```

### Authority Levels Explained

| Level | When to Use |
|-------|-------------|
| **Do it, don't tell me** | Low risk, high trust, repeatable |
| **Do it, then tell me** | Medium risk, building trust |
| **Recommend, I decide** | Higher stakes, developing judgment |
| **Decide together** | New territory, teaching moment |

## Common Delegation Failures

| Failure | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| Delegating without context | Share the "why" |
| Micromanaging after | Set checkpoints, then trust |
| Unclear success criteria | Define "done" upfront |
| No authority to act | Match responsibility with authority |
| Delegating then disappearing | Stay available for questions |
| Taking it back at first mistake | Coach through it |

## Output Format

```
## Delegation Plan: [Task/Responsibility]

**What:** [Clear description]
**Why delegate:** [Reason this should leave your plate]
**Delegate to:** [Person]
**Why them:** [Fit for this task]

**Delegation Brief:**
[Use template above]

**Handoff Plan:**
1. [First step to transfer]
2. [Training/context needed]
3. [First checkpoint]

**Success Metrics:**
- [How you'll know it's working]

**Your New Role:**
- [What you'll do instead of this task]
- [How you'll support without taking over]

**Risk Mitigation:**
- If [risk]: [response]
```

## The Mindset Shift

**From:** "No one can do this like me"
**To:** "My job is to build people who can do this without me"

**From:** "It's faster if I do it"
**To:** "Every hour I spend training saves 10 hours later"

**From:** "This is too important to delegate"
**To:** "If only I can do it, that's a single point of failure"