Performance review phrases for delegation

Exceeds expectations

• Matches each task to the right person's skill, so work lands where it will be done well the first time.
• Hands over a whole outcome, not just steps, so the person owns the result and grows from it.
• Delegates the routine approvals, so own time goes to the calls only a manager can make.
• Sets a clear brief and check-in points, then lets the person work without hovering over them.
• Trusts a capable junior with a client visit, and briefs them well enough to handle it alone.
• Spreads stretch tasks across the team over the year, so no one person carries all the growth work.
• Handed the roster to a deputy during leave with clear limits, and the desk ran without escalations.
• Delegates authority with the task, so the person can decide small things without coming back each time.

Meets expectations

• Assigns tasks clearly, so people know what is expected and by when.
• Shares the load across the team rather than keeping the interesting work for self.
• Checks progress at agreed points instead of chasing hourly.
• Gives enough context for the person to do the task without repeated questions.
• Lets juniors handle routine work rather than doing it all personally.
• Follows up on a delegated task to confirm it landed, without taking it back too soon.
• Picks a reasonable person for the task, matching effort to ability.
• Steps in only when a delegated task is genuinely off track.

Needs improvement

• Holds on to tasks that a junior could do, so own queue grows while the team waits.
• Delegates the task but keeps every decision, so the person returns for each small choice.
• Hands work over with too little brief, so it comes back needing rework.
• Checks in so often that the person cannot get on with the task.
• Gives the interesting work to self and routine work to the team, so no one grows.
• Takes a delegated task back at the first wobble rather than coaching through it.
• Delegates only in a crisis, dumping work without context when overloaded.

Self-review phrases

• I hand over whole outcomes now, not just steps, so the person owns the result.
• I delegated routine approvals this cycle to free my time for the harder calls.
• I want to check in at set points rather than hovering over delegated work.
• I gave a junior a client visit with a clear brief, and it went well.

Tips for writing this feedback

• Judge delegation by whether work is shared to grow the team, not hoarded because it feels faster to do alone.
• Look for authority handed with the task, since a person who must return for every decision is not truly delegated to.
• Check the brief: most delegation failures come from too little context, not from the wrong person.
• Watch for the manager who keeps the interesting work and delegates only the dull, which stalls everyone's growth.
• Note whether check-ins are at agreed points or constant hovering, which signals trust or its absence.

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