Delegation Board

A Delegation Board makes visible who in a team may make which decisions and at what level. The rows list decision areas such as vacation planning, technical architecture, or budget approvals. The columns represent the seven delegation levels, from Tell to Delegate. The result is an overview that eliminates ambiguity about responsibilities.

In a team, the board might show that technical decisions sit at level six: the team decides autonomously and informs the manager. Personnel decisions, by contrast, might be at level three: the manager decides after consulting the team. This transparency prevents decisions from getting stuck at the wrong level or being repeatedly escalated in day-to-day work. The board is typically created after a Delegation Poker session and remains visible as a living document.

The concept comes from Jurgen Appelo and is part of the Management 3.0 framework. It is particularly useful during phases when teams are taking on more autonomy and the boundaries of self-organization need to be clarified.