The Delegation Map
Four–ten people · 25 minutes · one hand-off, named
A full plate is usually a habit, not a workload. Sort it, circle one, name the support.
WorkshopSkill · The Delegation Map — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0What are you still doing
that nobody would miss if you stopped?
WorkshopSkill · The Delegation Map — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0Three zones, one circle
- Dump — the leader writes every task they currently own, one per note. The team may add what they see.
- Sort — Only me · Coach someone · Anyone can run. The leader speaks last and does not defend.
- Circle one — in Anyone can run, the single highest-leverage hand-off for this week. One, not five.
How the 25 minutes run
| Time | Phase | The room does |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 | Dump | Every owned task on a note; no filtering, no justifying |
| 5–12 | Sort | Each note placed in a zone; habit defaults to Anyone can run |
| 12–16 | Circle one | One note circled — the hand-off that changes the most |
| 16–22 | Name it | Owner, support, review date written on the card |
| 22–25 | Say it | One sentence each: what I stop doing, what I start owning |
Two rules hold the map
- The leader speaks last in Sort — defending a note before hearing the room biases the whole map.
- Coach someone is not a parking lot: name who is being coached and by when, or move the note.
- One circled hand-off per session. Five circles is a wish list.
A hand-off with no named support
is a dump, not a hand-off.
Write the support before anyone leaves.
WorkshopSkill · The Delegation Map — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0Three ways it stalls, three rescues
- Everything lands in Only me → the leader is protecting identity: ask what would have to be true for someone else to do it well.
- Everything lands in Anyone can run → overcorrection: pull back the two notes carrying real accountability and say why they stay.
- The circled hand-off has no support → force one hour of coaching or one document before the room breaks.
What leaves the room
- A three-zone map of one leader’s real, current plate.
- One circled hand-off with a named owner, the support they get, and a review date.
- One spoken sentence per person: something they will stop doing on Monday.
Three questions before you close
Which column is fullest — and how did this plate get that way?
How many notes in Only me are accountability, and how many are just “I have always done it”?
Which note made you uncomfortable to place in Anyone can run? That discomfort is the conversation.
WorkshopSkill · The Delegation Map — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0What carries into real work
- Re-run only the Coach someone column next quarter and see what actually got taught.
- Run it in week two of a new manager’s job, before habits calcify.
- The owner, the support and the date live on the card — put the card where the leader will see it slip.
.
Sort it in front of the team · circle one · name the support
The map is the artifact. The circled hand-off is the decision.
WorkshopSkill · The Delegation Map — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0Take this folder with you
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