delegation-brief
Skill0 starsChanged yesterdayMITView on GitHub
Write a brief that lets someone else do a task well without coming back every hour: the intent (why it matters), the expected result and what "done" looks like, constraints, resources, decision rights, check-in points and how to report. Works for a colleague, a freelancer, a contractor, a family member or an AI agent. Use when someone delegates, outsources or hands over a task. Triggers: "delegate", "brief", "hand over", "outsource a task", "instructions for", "déléguer", "rédiger un brief", "confier une tâche", "passer le relais", "delegar", "redactar un brief", "encargar una tarea".
1 other project uses a version of this.
Adopted by
Most recently taken up by
- aya-taleb/productivity-skillstheir own version, first seen Nov 1, 2026
Other versions1 project uses a version of this.
Word for word · 0
None found.
Edited · 0
None found.
Wrote their own version · 1
- aya-taleb/productivity-skills★ 1same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repository15 other files it gives its agents.
- decision-makingSkill
- meeting-toolkitSkill
- project-budgetSkill
- project-charterSkill
- project-recoverySkill
- project-scheduleSkill
- responsibility-matrixSkill
- retrospectiveSkill
- risk-registerSkill
- scope-changeSkill
- stakeholder-mapSkill
- status-updateSkill
- vendor-selectionSkill
- weekly-reviewSkill
- work-breakdownSkill
The file
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
3 rules. About 0 are common, 2 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.
≈0
Common · estimate
Many files like this have a rule of this kind.
≈2
Distinctive · estimate
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
1
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Distinctive: line 20
Before handing a task to someone else, inside or outside the project team.
- Distinctive: line 21
When a task keeps coming back unfinished or wrong.
- Very specific: line 22
Not to split a whole project: use responsibility-matrix.
≈ “Common” is an estimate: at least 1 in 5 of the 350,495 skill files we read have a rule of the same kind, not the same words. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
Delegation brief
Most delegation fails at the brief: the person knows what to do but not why, so they cannot adapt when reality differs from the plan. This skill writes the intent first, a lesson the Heath brothers draw from the military "commander's intent".
When to use
- Before handing a task to someone else, inside or outside the project team.
- When a task keeps coming back unfinished or wrong.
- Not to split a whole project: use
responsibility-matrix.
Inputs
- The task, and why it matters for the project.
- The person: their experience with this kind of task and their availability.
- Constraints: budget, deadline, rules, things that must not change.
Method
- Write the intent in one or two sentences: the purpose of the task and what success means for the project. If the plan breaks, the person follows the intent.
- Describe the result, not the steps: what "done" looks like, with an example or a model when possible, and how it will be checked.
- State the constraints and resources: deadline, budget, tools, access, people to ask, and what must not happen.
- Set the decision rights: what the person decides alone, what they must ask about first, and the spending limit.
- Adapt the level of detail to experience: more steps and earlier check-ins for a first time, more freedom for an expert.
- Plan the check-ins: the first one early (to catch misunderstandings), then at milestones, and the format of the report.
- Ask the person to rephrase the brief in their own words before starting.
Output
### Brief: <task> (for <person>, due <date>)
Why this matters: …
Done means: … | How we will check: …
Constraints: … | Resources and contacts: …
You decide: … | Ask me first: … | Spending limit: …
Check-ins: … | Report format: …Quality bar
- The intent is written before the instructions.
- "Done" can be checked by someone else.
- Decision rights and the spending limit are explicit.
- The first check-in comes early.
- Written in the user's language, with the terms below.
Terminology
| English | Français | Español |
| Delegation | Délégation | Delegación |
| Brief | Brief, cahier des charges | Brief, encargo |
| Intent | Intention, finalité | Intención, propósito |
| Decision rights | Pouvoir de décision | Capacidad de decisión |
| Check-in | Point d'étape | Punto de control |
| Handover | Passation | Traspaso |
Sources
- Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Random House.
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