Practice

Delegation Poker

From Management 3.0

A card game that makes explicit who decides what, on a seven-level scale from ‘manager tells’ to ‘team decides’, for specific recurring decisions.

Meeting time 0.1 h/wkLearning curve Easy

Helps with

hand-offs and waitingrecurring problemsmisalignment

Pairs well with

Team Working Agreement Process Facilitator

Why it exists

Make explicit who decides what, so teams stop waiting for permission on decisions they own and managers stop being the bottleneck.

Why it works

Delegation isn’t all-or-nothing. Seven levels (tell, sell, consult, agree, advise, inquire, delegate) describe how much say each side has on a specific decision. Revealing everyone’s choice at the same time exposes mismatched assumptions, which are behind a lot of frustration on both sides.

Before you start

A manager who is genuinely willing to share authority.
Specific, recurring decisions to discuss, not vague areas like “strategy”.

Don’t use it when

Decision rights are fixed by regulation or contract.
Trust is so damaged that a game would feel manipulative. Repair the relationship first.

Set it up for your context

If your team…Then

New teamStart with six to eight everyday decisions, such as tools, working hours and who joins the team.

Several teamsRun it per team and publish each team’s delegation board.

Decisions queue up behind one managerFocus the session on exactly those decisions.

How to introduce it

List eight concrete, recurring decisions.
For each decision, the manager and team members choose a level privately.
Reveal the cards together.
Discuss the biggest gaps first.
Agree a level for each decision.
Record the result on a visible delegation board and revisit it each quarter.

Variations

Delegation board: A grid of decisions against levels, kept visible and updated over time.
Advice process: Anyone may decide after seeking advice from those affected and those with expertise.
RACI: A heavier, more formal alternative. Rarely needed for team-level decisions.

Common failure modes

Agreed but not honoured

You’ll notice The manager overrides decisions the team was told it owns.

Fix Keep the board visible and raise breaches at the retrospective.

Abstract decisions

You’ll notice The discussion stays theoretical.

Fix Use real recent examples for each decision.

One-off session

You’ll notice Levels never change as trust grows.

Fix Revisit the board each quarter and move decisions up a level where it’s earned.

Signs it’s working

Fewer items wait for approval.
The team makes the decisions it owns without escalating.
Fewer “who decides this?” conversations.

What it costs

Setting up: A 60–90 minute session.
Ongoing: About 30 minutes each quarter.

How it connects

Team Working Agreement Agreed delegation levels belong in the team’s working agreement.

Sources

Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders, Jurgen Appelo (2011)
Delegation Poker, Management 3.0