Without agile leadership, there can be no self-organised work, and without self-organised work, there can be no agile leadership. However, uncertainties or even conflicts arise for both team members and managers at the latest when decisions have to be made: How self-organised am I really allowed to work? What does my area of responsibility actually look like? Which decisions am I allowed (or not allowed) to make? Who makes this decision? Can my team member make this decision without me?
Delegation Poker is a playful method for coordinating the areas of responsibility and decision-making powers between team members and managers and creating clarity. The transparency gained also helps to align the different expectations of managers and team members.
Each participant receives seven cards. The cards represent different degrees of independence in decision-making – from the manager announcing a decision to delegating decision-making authority to a team member. Decision-making areas are identified together. The team members then play poker with the manager for each decision-making area. To prevent mutual influence, the cards are selected face down and then revealed together. Each participant then explains their choice to the others and a discussion begins. The aim is to reach a decision on the degree of delegation for the respective decision-making area that all participants are comfortable with.
There is no official limit on group size in Delegation Poker. However, it is recommended not to exceed the size of a Scrum team.
In the wake of the New Work movement, numerous organisations are paying close attention to clarifying future decision-making powers and processes. While traditional organisations tend to favour classic top-down decision-making, agile organisations rely on decentralised decision-making.
When an organisation opts for agile decision-making, this results in new decision-making processes and changed responsibilities, which initially overwhelm managers and team members. While managers suddenly often feel left out of the decision-making process, many team members are overwhelmed by their new areas of responsibility and competence. It is not uncommon for "neutral zones" to arise where no clear decision-making authority and responsibility can be identified. This results in uncertainty among all those involved and, in the worst case, no one making a decision. Delegation Poker helps you to prevent such "neutral zones" from arising in the first place.
Clear role profiles
Clear role profiles are essential tools for self-organised work. Delegation Poker helps you to refine your role profiles.
With its seven levels, Delegation Poker is anything but a choice between "give instructions" and "do what you want". The degree of delegation and the associated self-organisation is determined step by step. Once a decision on a degree of delegation has been pokered out between the parties involved, it does not have to apply forever, and certainly not to all areas of decision-making. Self-organisation is a learning process that must be explored, questioned and adapted step by step. Both sides need time and experience to get used to changed decision-making processes and to define their comfort zone.
The seven levels of delegation
Delegation Poker distinguishes between seven levels of delegation – one per card. They are formulated from the perspective of the manager:
I decide
Announce / tell-> "I will let you know."
The manager makes a decision and informs his team members about it.
Sell -> "I will try to convey it to you."
The manager decides alone and informs his team members about the decision made. In doing so, he justifies it and tries to convince the team.
Ask /Consult-> "I will seek your advice before making my decision."
The manager seeks the opinions of the team before making a decision alone.
Agree -> "We will reach a consensus."
Before a decision is made, there is a discussion with all parties involved. The aim of the discussion is to reach a consensus decision.
Advise -> "I will advise you, but you decide."
The manager is there to offer advice. After the team has sought advice from the manager, the team makes the decision.
Inquire -> "I will ask for your decision."
The manager is not part of the decision-making process. The team makes the decision independently and the manager inquires about the result and the reasons behind it.
Delegate -> "I will delegate completely."
The manager is not involved in the decision-making process. The team makes the decision independently, without the manager being involved or informed. The manager gives the team complete autonomy.
The structure of the seven levels of delegation reveals three groupings. In the first three levels, the manager makes the decisions and the team's participation varies. Level 4 is right in the middle and requires consensus among all participants. In levels 5, 6 and 7, the team makes the decisions, with the manager's participation varying.
This is how delegation poker works
The preparation
Collect real and concrete decision-making scenarios from your work environment. Write a Delegation Poker Story for each scenario that gives all participants a clear idea of the issue to be pokerised. These can be both positive and negative examples of decisions you have already made or decisions that are currently on the table. Ambiguous responsibilities and unclear expectations or competencies can also be formulated in a Delegation Poker story.
The best way to visualise your collected stories is on a Delegation Board. The matrix is used to document your results.
In addition, prepare the 7 Delegation Poker cards for each participant.
Tip:
Create a situation backlog that every team member has access to. This allows you to immediately document situations that arise in your daily work and hold regular Delegation Poker sessions based on the collected backlog items.
The gameplay
1. Select a Delegation Poker story. Ensure that every participant understands the content and context. Allow a maximum of 15 minutes per story.
2. Each participant reflects on how they believe the decision in the scenario should be made. They select the appropriate card and place it face down in front of them.
3. On command, all participants reveal their cards.
4. One after the other, all participants explain their decision. It is best to start with the two team members whose delegation levels are furthest apart.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you have a common understanding and everyone is comfortable with the decision.
6. To avoid misunderstandings, enter your result in the prepared delegation board. Then move on to the next story.
The follow-up
Poker for decision-making powers based on real or fictional examples is only a small step towards self-organised work. Simply discussing and defining areas of responsibility, competencies and decision-making powers is not enough at this point. We must not be misled by the classic gap between theory and practice. The real challenge is dealing with situations that arise in everyday work that are similar to the stories discussed in the Delegation Poker round. In other words: How do you actually deal with decision-making situations when they arise? Do you stick to the delegation level you agreed on, or do you fall back into old patterns? Or is the situation perhaps not comparable to the stories from Delegation Poker, so that you are still faced with the question: Who makes the decision?
At this point, it is important to be open and transparent with each other. For example, admit when you are not sure whether you are exceeding your area of responsibility, or point out to another person that they are making a decision that is outside the scope of the Delegation Poker agreement – even if it is your manager.
Through open discussions, reflection and regular Delegation Poker, your new decision-making processes will become increasingly clear and therefore easier to implement.
Delegation Poker in a nutshell
– Playful determination of decision-making powers
– A decisive step towards self-organised work and agile leadership
– Managers and team members leave their comfort zones – if they feel comfortable doing so
– Elimination of cumbersome and time-consuming decision-making processes
– Promotes a sense of responsibility and confidence in decision-making situations
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