Choose one recurring choice
Start with a decision that repeatedly returns to your desk. Describe the decision itself, not a judgment about the person bringing it to you. “Who can adjust a routine delivery date?” is a clearer starting point than “the team needs more initiative.”
Ask the people doing the work what makes the choice unclear. Missing information, policy restrictions, competing expectations, or an earlier reversal may all deserve attention before you conclude that confidence is the problem.
State the outcome and the limits
Write the result that matters, the choices the team may make, and the limits they must respect. Include relevant budget, safety, customer, confidentiality, or policy boundaries. Be explicit about any decision you are not authorized to delegate.
Hypothetical example: a manager may authorize a routine schedule adjustment within an agreed window, but a change that affects a contractual commitment must go to the designated approver. The boundary matters as much as the permission.
Which recurring decision still depends on an agreement no one has written down?
Define an exception route
Specify which conditions require escalation, who should receive it, and what information is useful. Avoid “come to me if it is important” when important could mean different things to different people. Use observable conditions where the work permits them.
Also agree on what happens when the normal approver is unavailable. Do not leave the team choosing between silence and unauthorized action when a time-sensitive exception appears.
Review the agreement, not just the result
After a few real decisions, examine whether the boundary was usable. Were routine choices genuinely delegated? Were exceptions raised early enough? Did your response support the authority you said the team had?
If you override a decision made within the agreed boundary, explain why and revise the agreement if necessary. Otherwise, a written permission may be undermined by the practical lesson that every choice still needs your approval.
Review one priority, one pending decision, one important conversation, and one commitment to stop or reconsider.
Open Weekly Executive Focus Review