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Delegation Up, Down, and Across

Delegation is often a skill learned and executed in the downward direction: you have too much to do, this is something better suited for, or a task that will build confidence and skill for another team member, so you hand some of it off. But delegation rarely flows in only one direction. It moves down to your team, across to your peers, and sometimes up to your manager, and each direction asks something different.

Delegating down is you handing work to your team. Delegating across means asking peers for help or handing off work between teams, where you have no formal authority and influence does the heavy lifting. Delegating up is the least obvious, and it covers two things: receiving work from your manager and knowing when to hand a problem back to them. What connects all three directions is clarity. In every direction, delegation succeeds when all parties know who decides what, how progress will be shared, and what outcomes are expected.

Here are five actions that can help you delegate clearly to the right audience:

1. Lead with the why.
a. Down: Share the purpose of the task you are delegating.
b. Across: Tie the ask to a shared goal.
c. Up: Confirm the purpose and outcome your manager is after.
2. Be explicit about authority.
a. Down: Say whether the person decides, recommends, or gathers options.
b. Across: Agree who owns the decision before the work starts.
c. Up: Ask where you can act on your own and where your manager wants a say.
3. Agree on the check-in rhythm up front.
a. Down: Set check-in dates early on so you can stay informed without hovering.
b. Across: Agree on when you’ll check in, and who to contact.
c. Up: Ask how and when your manager wants to hear from you.
4. Match the ask to the person and the cost.
a. Down: Give newer team members more context and closer support.
b. Across: Acknowledge what you’re asking peers to take on, and offer something in return.
c. Up: Lower the cost of saying yes by bringing a recommendation along with the problem.
5. Leave room for flexibility and pushback.
a. Down: Let the work be done differently if the outcome is right.
b. Across: Allow a counteroffer, because a negotiated yes gets delivered and a reluctant one rarely does.
c. Up: Flag things early when a task needs more time or someone else’s authority.

Delegation gets easier when everyone on the team knows what clarity looks like in every direction. If you’re ready to help your leaders and teams build those habits together, we’d love to help you get started.