Mastering Delegation: How to Empower Your Team With Accountability

As a manager, you know delegation is important. You’ve heard all the advice: “You can’t do it all yourself,” “Empower your team,” and “If you don’t delegate, you’ll never scale.” And yet, many managers still struggle to let go.

The excuses sound familiar:

• “It’s faster if I do it myself.”
• “I really need this done correctly, so I’d better handle it.”
• “I don’t want to overload my team.”
• “I’m not sure they’re ready for this.”

If you find yourself saying these things, it’s worth asking: Are you managing, or are you still playing the role of an individual contributor?

The Hidden Cost of Holding On

When managers don’t delegate, they unintentionally trap themselves between two worlds—part contributor, part leader. The result? Burnout, stalled career growth, and a team that isn’t developing the skills they need to take on more responsibility.

The reality is that effective delegation isn’t just about offloading work; it’s about accountability—both yours and your team’s. When done right, delegation develops your people, makes your job easier, and ultimately creates a leadership pipeline that enables you to move up.

The Two Levels of Accountability

Kenneth Blanchard and his co-authors of The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey offer a simple but powerful approach to delegation: For every task, there should be one of two "insurance policies" in place:

1. Recommend, then Act – The team member researches, develops a recommendation, and gets approval before proceeding.
2. Act, then Advise – The team member makes a decision and then informs you after the fact.

The key is understanding which approach to take for any given task. The book states:

“It is neither possible nor desirable for [the manager] to tell [the team] in advance which policy to use on each and every thing they do. So, on most endeavors they assume the responsibility—and the risk!—of selecting the policy themselves... If I am not satisfied with the policy they are using, I have the prerogative to change it.”

How to Use This in Practice

A good rule of thumb: Check your anxiety level.

• If you’re feeling anxious about an outcome—because of the risk level, complexity, or delegatee’s experience—start with Level 1 (Recommend, then Act).
• As the risk decreases, and your trust in their abilities grows, transition to Level 2 (Act, then Advise).

Ultimately, your job isn’t to micromanage—it’s to set clear expectations and ensure sufficient communication. No one, including your boss, should ever be surprised by an outcome, whether good or bad.

Empower Your Team, Free Yourself

Delegation isn’t about losing control—it’s about enabling your team to take ownership while ensuring accountability. By letting go of tasks strategically and setting clear communication expectations, you’ll not only develop your team but also free yourself up to focus on the bigger picture.

And if your goal is to eventually move up the ladder, remember this: You can’t get promoted if you’re still doing the work of the role you already have.

The transition from individual contributor (IC) to engineering manager (EM) is one of the most challenging career shifts in tech. My 12-month IC to EM program is designed to provide new managers with the skills, mindset, and support they need to succeed. Through structured coaching and practical exercises, you will learn how to delegate effectively, set clear expectations, navigate difficult conversations, and balance strategic leadership with day-to-day execution. By the end of the program, you’ll have the confidence and tools to lead your team with clarity and impact.