One of my favorite management techniques is delegation poker. Delegation poker is a technique to arrive at how decisions are to be made. The decision makers can be two individuals (manager and report) or entire teams and their team leaders.
The 7 delegation levels are:
- Level 1: Tell
- Level 2: Sell
- Level 3: Consult
- Level 4: Agree
- Level 5: Advise
- Level 6: Inquire
- Level 7: Delegate
There is a ton of material out there but one article I frequently share is by Miquel Rodríguez which gives good detail and examples. Specifically love the non work examples with kids and restaurants:
It is clear that, depending on the context, the trust in the collaborator, the impact of the decision, etc., can oscillate on several levels. For example, the Level 1 that I used to order in a restaurant can become a Level 3 by asking what dish someone recommends or even a Level 7 by ordering the tasting menu without asking what is on it. But to reach Level 7 in this example, it must be a restaurant that we trust if we do not want to run the risk of getting an unpleasant surprise.
Frequently Faced Challenges
Challenge #1
Life happens, new situations come up.
Teams are at different delegation levels for different activities. While the delegation poker does ask you to do the exercise for the activities identified, life is unpredictable and new situations come up all the time.
A new situation may require new and unknown activities for both teams and team leaders/managers. It’s unlikely that you will be taking out your poker cards anticipating and cognizant of these situations.
Challenge #2
Teams can move up or move down delegation levels without clear signals. Similarly, managers can move up or move down delegation levels without clear signals
A clear signal in this case would come from an explicit conversation or exercise but the ideal situation of a dialog occurring prior to a shift does not always happen.
A drift in delegation levels and expectations can occur and this can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication.
If the alignment breaks the person who stayed higher expects more autonomy and agency from the person who stayed lower.
Conversely, the person who moved lower starts behaving differently and shows less agency and autonomy towards the other person which can make the other person a bit confused and frustrated.
Tips to overcome these
- Trust — establish a strong foundation of 2 way trust.
- Empathy — give grace.
- Candor — be direct, discuss openly.