Help users delegate effectively. Use when someone is struggling to let go of tasks, deciding what to delegate, building team autonomy, or balancing being hands-on vs hands-off.
Help the user delegate effectively using frameworks from 38 product leaders who have scaled themselves and their organizations.
When the user asks for help with delegating:
Ray Cao: "The number one thing is context, not control. That's the reason why we're always encouraging people to see themselves as a business owner." Provide all necessary information so employees can 'connect the dots' themselves rather than waiting for instructions.
Boz: "One of the most powerful things we do is refuse to rule. Someone will bring me a thing. I'll be like, 'Nope, but look, I think you've got it.'" Intentionally step back when the team is struggling with the 'right' problems to build their autonomy.
Cam Adams: "Finding joy in the other things of building a team, passing on your experience, helping other people do great writing or great product building is really what giving away your Lego is about." Find fulfillment in enabling others to succeed rather than holding onto tasks for personal identity.
Brian Chesky: "There's a difference between micromanagement, which is like telling people exactly what to do, and being in the details. If you don't know the details, how do you know people are doing a good job?" Deep involvement ensures quality; micromanagement prescribes every action.
Brian Chesky (citing Ben Horowitz): "A lot of people tell product led founders to step away and delegate their product to other people, but suddenly they've delegated away the thing they're best at. The thing that is hardest for them to replace." Retain direct involvement in your core competency.
Fareed Mosavat: "You have to shift from, 'My job is to do the work,' to, 'My job is to make the work better. My job is to plus the work, to review the work.'" The transition to management requires becoming an editor, not just a delegator.
Ravi Mehta: "If you don't feel confident in the direction that your team is moving, the right answer is not to be hands-off. The right answer is to micromanage, but do it in a very tactical and a very temporary way." Know when to step in deeply and when to pull back.
Peter Deng: "In 6 months, if I'm telling you what to do, I've hired the wrong person. The meta goal becomes, are we calibrating enough? Are we getting into a spot where you're the one telling me what needs to be done?" Effective delegation means the report drives the work within six months.
For all 46 insights from 38 guests, see references/guest-insights.md