HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done (HBR Guide Series)

Chapter 16

Levels of Delegation

by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback

If you think that delegation is appropriate only for employees who’ve already demonstrated complete competence in an area, then you may be trapped in this vicious cycle: Until your employee has the opportunity to perform an activity by herself, she’ll never develop the necessary skill and experience to do it well. But until she does it well, you’ll continue to believe that you must be involved—either by performing the task yourself or by micromanaging her so closely she never learns to do it independently.

Here’s a way to think about delegation as three levels corresponding to your direct reports’ increasing levels of competence:

Delegation level 1Low delegation—high control ...