Facilitation Facilitation method

Delegation Poker

Delegation Poker makes decision authority visible through seven delegation levels and supports a deliberate agreement.

Delegation Poker lets participants simultaneously choose a level from Tell to Delegate for a concrete decision. Discussion clarifies context, risk, and a workable level; the result is recorded on a Delegation Board.

Core question

Which delegation level fits this decision given current capability, risk, and boundaries?

Plan Delegation Poker Method guide

Start comparison

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Participants: 3-10
Time: 60–90 minutes for 5–8 decision areas; review the delegation board regularly afterwards.

Each step produces a concrete domain result for the complete run.

Paper illustration for Delegation Poker.

Decisions
Select areas
List recurring decisions with context, risk, and affected roles.
Levels
Explain delegation
Clarify Tell, Sell, Consult, Agree, Advise, Inquire, and Delegate with one example.
Reveal
Choose simultaneously
Leader and team choose face down and explain after revealing.
Reconcile
Clarify context and boundary
Discuss differences using capability, risk, information needs, and guardrails.
Board
Review agreement
Record level, conditions, information path, and review date on the Delegation Board.

Replay decision cases after practical experience and adjust level and conditions gradually.

A good fit when

Use it for recurring decisions where authority between leadership and team is unclear or overly constrained.

Ideal for

Leadership Alignment
Team Autonomy
Operating Model Change

Not good for

One-off technical detail questions
Teams without decision space

Outputs

Current delegation board
Delegation board with decision area, agreed level, conditions, information path, guardrails, and review date.

Delegation board decision matrix

Fictional example

Fictional example for one concrete work case.

Delegation board decision matrix
Case	Decision area	Current state	Agreed level	Conditions and review
Example caseWhich delegation level fits this decision given current capability, risk, and boundaries?	Monitoring-tool selection	Manager decides after consultation	5 · Advise: team decides after advice	Budget up to €5,000, security check, review after two decisions

1. Decision area
Example case
Monitoring-tool selection
2. Current state
Example case
Manager decides after consultation
3. Agreed level
Example case
5 · Advise: team decides after advice
4. Conditions and review
Example case
Budget up to €5,000, security check, review after two decisions

The example is fictional and must be adapted to mandate and context.

Reference source · original teaching example

First step

Choose concrete decisions with a named leader and executing team.

Open the method guide

Good to do first

Facilitation

Team Charter

Supplies the roles and decision framework recurring decisions get collected from.

Where to go next?

Agile

Working Agreements

Anchors the agreed delegation levels as a binding team rule.

Paper illustration of an activity-role table with clear RACI assignments and one highlighted accountable role per activity.

Operations

RACI Matrix

Assigns concrete execution responsibility to the delegated decisions.

Deep dive

Purpose

When decisions get stuck between leadership and team, Delegation Poker clarifies the desired scope of autonomy. It shows how much decision-making latitude a role should actually get in practice.

How it works

Participants place a concrete decision along graduated degrees of freedom and speak openly about reasoning, risk, and maturity. This produces a more precise balance of control and ownership that holds up in daily work.

In detail

Delegation Poker helps because it negotiates leadership and decision-making latitude concretely along graduated delegation levels. The method works when the levels do not stay abstract but are tied to real decisions, risks, and skill building. The focus is on trust, maturity, and feedback, so delegation becomes clearer and fosters neither micromanagement nor overload.

Facilitation

Start with decisions that occur regularly and are noticeable for several people involved, rather than hypothetical edge cases. Care is needed when the same level means different things to different people; then the practical consequence must be spelled out clearly. Close with a few fixed delegation levels and an agreement on when to review them again.

The method guide walks execution through 5 phases, timing, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.

Open method guide

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Sources and topics

Topics

Autonomy Roles Team

Sources

Reference source · original teaching examplemanagement30.comManagement 3.0 by Jurgen Appelo; explains Delegation Poker with its seven delegation levels from Tell to Delegate.

In playbooks

Establish Team AlignmentMove from unspoken expectations to clear roles, agreements, and decision pathways.

Artifact templates

Delegation Poker: WorksheetPlan the question, inputs, complete run, and review with clear ownership.

markdown

delegation-poker-working-template.md

Plan the question, inputs, complete run, and review with clear ownership.

Delegation Poker: Worksheet

Question

To be confirmed

Desired outcome

To be confirmed

Scope

Complete run Time: 60–90 minutes for 5–8 decision areas; review the delegation board regularly afterwards.

Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.

Preparation for this scope

Method setup

Materials: Cards 1–7 for Tell, Sell, Consult, Agree, Advise, Inquire, and Delegate, concrete decision cases, delegation board, and timer.
Roles: Manager or current decision holder · affected team members · facilitator · board owner
Advance information: Collect 5–8 recurring decisions with risk, current holder, and affected roles. Mark hard legal or organisational boundaries.
Overall time needed: 60–90 minutes for 5–8 decision areas; review the delegation board regularly afterwards.
Setup: Explain all seven levels in one direction, from manager decision to full delegation. Choose privately, reveal together, and let the extremes explain first.