One-Page View
Autonomy Ladder
Deciding how much of each task someone else carries, and how much say stays with you.
A keep-close version. Read it here, or screenshot this page to have it on your phone — print and PDF copies will appear once final files are attached.
Delegation has rungs, and 'help' that takes over the decisions is not always relief. The skill is choosing the rung per task, per day — and saying it out loud so nobody has to guess.
The rungs
- Rung 1You decide, they carry: “'The forms are on the table — this one goes to the council.'”
- Rung 2You set the shape, they fill it: “'Book me a GP appointment, any morning, phone if possible.'”
- Rung 3They handle it, they tell you: “'Can you sort the school run this week?'”
- Rung 4They handle it, you hear later — or not at all: “The mercy rung, for the days when deciding is the impossible part.”
My tasks, per rung
One or two examples at the rungs that fit your life. The rung can change daily — that's allowed.
Who does what, at which rung
e.g. Appointments: rung 2 (shape, not detail). Bin day: rung 1. Bad days: rung 4, honestly.
The sentence that holds the middle
The thank
- “Thank you —”
- “This helps so much —”
- “Perfect —”
The say, kept
- “could you do it this way? It's what works here.”
- “any morning is fine, but phone if possible — and tell me what it's for.”
- “please leave it where I can reach it, even if it looks less tidy there.”
If a rung gets climbed without asking
Kind, and still a correction — the rebalancing sentence.
My line
e.g. I really appreciate you taking this on — and I'd like to stay in the loop on the decisions, please.
On the worst days, the top rungs are the mercy. On better days, the lower rungs keep you you. Both are the system working — the skill is just saying which one today needs.