You’ve felt it before. You delegate a task, expecting relief. Instead, what comes back makes you sigh: incomplete, off-track, or worse—completely different from what you asked for.
You wanted freedom. What you got was double work.
Most managers blame the person: “They didn’t listen. They weren’t careful. They don’t get it.”
But in truth, the problem often starts with us. We didn’t define the result. We gave activity, not clarity.
The Cost of Vagueness
Let me tell you about Carla. She asked her team member to “draft a proposal for the client.” That was it.
Her team member stayed up late writing ten pages filled with research, charts, and background. The problem? The client only wanted a two-page comparison of three options.
Carla had to scrap it and redo everything in one weekend. She was frustrated, her staff felt useless, and the client lost confidence.
This wasn’t laziness. It wasn’t incompetence. It was vagueness.
As I wrote in The Delegation Game:
“Unclear is unkind. Every vague handoff is an invitation to frustration—for you and for them.”
Manny’s Napkin Trick
Manny, a mentor I once worked with, carried a simple rule he could fit on a napkin. Whenever someone asked what delegation looked like, he’d write this line:
“This is done when…”
That’s it. One sentence. Not a paragraph, not a checklist of micromanaged steps. Just one clear, measurable statement of what success looks like.
- “This is done when the client presentation has 10 slides, covers last quarter’s results, and ends with three recommendations.”
- “This is done when the event venue is booked, deposit paid, and contract signed by Friday.”
- “This is done when the budget is updated from X to Y by Wednesday noon.”
The napkin trick forces clarity. If you can’t define “done” in one line, you’re not ready to delegate.
Why Clarity Beats Control
Many managers give instructions instead of results. They say:
- “Make five versions of this slide.”
- “Call the supplier and ask these three questions.”
This feels like control, but it kills ownership. People follow steps without thinking. They deliver activity, not outcomes.
Defining results is different. You tell them the destination, not every turn on the road. They choose the path. They learn. They own.
Clarity doesn’t mean control. Clarity means freedom.
The Danger of Skipping This Step
Rico learned this the hard way. He asked his assistant to “prepare the report.” A week later, she proudly handed him 40 pages of detail.
What Rico wanted was five slides with trends and insights. He groaned, thanked her politely, and stayed up until 2 a.m. condensing it.
The consequence? His assistant felt demotivated. Rico felt resentful. And the pattern repeated: he stopped delegating, and she stopped trying.
This is what happens when “done” is undefined. Everyone loses.
A Better Way: X to Y by When
The napkin trick gives you the skeleton. The “X to Y by When” formula gives it muscle.
Here’s how it works:
- X = the starting point.
- Y = the target result.
- By When = the time frame.
Examples:
- “Sales conversion goes from 20% to 30% by end of quarter.”
- “Attendance at weekly meetings improves from 60% to 90% by June.”
- “Customer satisfaction scores go from 3.8 to 4.5 by next survey.”
Why does this work? Because it forces you to be measurable, specific, and time-bound. It eliminates the gray zone of “I thought you meant…”
What Done Looks Like
Here’s the shift: Stop telling people what to do. Start telling them what done looks like.
This one habit transforms delegation. Your people stop guessing. You stop redoing. Everyone starts owning.
And the magic is this: when you define “done” clearly, you don’t need to hover. You can step back with confidence because the destination is undeniable.
Stop Your Frustrations
If you skip this step, frustration multiplies:
- Work comes back wrong.
- Deadlines slip.
- You lose trust in your team.
- They lose confidence in themselves.
Soon, you’re stuck in the cycle of doing everything yourself again.
But if you start here, even with small tasks, the game changes. Your people grow, your stress drops, and your leadership finally scales.
As The Delegation Game reminds us:
“Clarity is the cheapest tool you’ll ever use. It costs nothing to say it clearly. It costs everything if you don’t.”
This Is Done When
Next time you hand something off, pause. Don’t just say, “Work on this.”
Write or say the napkin line: “This is done when…”
Better yet, test yourself: can you state the outcome in an X-to-Y-by-When format? If not, you’re not ready to delegate yet.
Your Move
Here’s your challenge:
- Pick one task you plan to delegate this week.
- Write a one-sentence “done” statement.
- Share it with the person. Ask them to repeat it back in their own words.
- Watch how much smoother the process becomes.
Start small. One sentence. One task. Notice the difference.
Where We Go Next
This is Step 1 of the 7-Step Delegation Play. Coming next:
Step 2: Place the Task on the Matrix – Risk vs. Readiness.
Step 3: Set Boundaries – The Rules of the Game.
Step 6 & 7: Document and Debrief – Learning and Upgrading Delegation.
Define “done.” Then let them play. That’s how the Delegation Game begins.
FAQ
If you’ve ever felt the frustration of vague handoffs or the stress of redoing your team’s work, you’re not alone. Most managers were promoted because they were good at doing, not because they were trained in delegating. The truth is, delegation is a skill—and like any skill, it can be learned, practiced, and mastered.
That’s why I created the Delegation Game Workshop. It’s a hands-on session designed for managers and supervisors who want to stop firefighting and start leading. Instead of theory, you’ll run real plays with real tasks, walking through the 7-Step Delegation Play until it feels natural. You’ll leave with a set of practical tools you can use the very next day with your team.
Imagine what happens when delegation stops being guesswork and becomes a repeatable system. Your meetings shorten, your people grow, and your calendar finally opens up for the leadership work only you can do. That’s the power of playing the game well—and it’s what this workshop delivers.
👉 I help leaders design strategies that work. As author of The Delegation Game, I equip managers with tools to lead, delegate, and deliver results that last.
