Bad, good, great

Here are three frameworks for delegating a task, from worst to best:

Worse: "Here is what I want you to do…"

This approach is prone to miscommunication. You and your delegate probably have different definitions of "good enough."

Decent: "Here is what I want you to do… this is what a bad result looks like, and this is what a good result looks like."

This is better. It explicitly defines "good enough, " which makes underperformance less likely. Moreover, if the delegate does underperform, discussing it will be less awkward.

Best: "Here is what I want you to do… this is what a bad result looks like, this is what a good result looks like, and this is what a great result looks like."

This is the best approach, for it opens the door to great outcomes.

Note that it's not just about raising the bar (for example, saying: $300k in sales is bad, $500k is good, and $750k is great). It's about painting a visual representation of what a great outcome looks like. For example, imagine you tell your delegee, "If you deliver the presentation and the audience doesn't clap, it's bad; if they like it, it's good; and if they go tell their friends and colleagues, it's great." That shifts the focus from merely preparing a few slides and rehearsing them to deliberately thinking about what else must be done to make it memorable.

The two takeaways

The first takeaway is that merely highlighting what's enough and what's not enough is likely to lead to just okay outcomes, whereas highlighting the difference between good and great is more likely to lead to great outcomes.

You can use this framework not only while delegating but also while communicating and writing job descriptions.

The second takeaway is that this framework, "bad / good / great," is a fantastic tool for upskilling. You can dramatically improve someone's skills by showing them what great looks like (as opposed to just demanding improvement).

In fact, it's such a great framework that I recently developed a workshop centered around that.

It is centered around the foundational skills of people management (delegation, communication, feedback, hiring, performance management, etc.). For each skill, we will see the difference between how to do it well and at a great level.

It's useful for improving your managerial skills and, more importantly, for obtaining the tools and examples to upgrade those of your team.

It's a 2-hour group workshop held over Zoom. I keep the classes small, at a maximum of 12 people, and I teach it personally (no bait-and-switch with inexperienced facilitators).

I will hold it on January the 29th, 2025. If you cannot make it but are still interested, let me know. I also organize private workshops.

Read more about the workshop here.