The misunderstanding surrounding Management 3.0
One of the fundamental principles of Management 3.0 is that management is not solely the responsibility of the manager. Everyone is responsible for contributing to management in the company.
Management 3.0 tools enable better conversations within teams, with colleagues, or even with their manager.
And here's the most important point: the manager doesn't always have to initiate the use of these tools. Anyone can do it, as long as they have the initiative and courage to do so.
So I took a few minutes with this team leader to better understand what she had missed, or more precisely, what I had failed to explain.
Another way of looking at delegation poker
We started our discussion with delegation poker. She had seen me present the seven levels of delegation: Tell, Sell, Consult, Agree, Advise, Inform, and Delegate. Her understanding was that this tool was something managers had to initiate with their teams.
I asked her, "When your manager gives you a task, is the level of delegation clear to you? Do you know how they want you to involve them?"
Long pause...
“Not really, no. I just do what I'm asked and check if I'm not sure about something.”
Her approach is typical of many people who don't clarify these kinds of things in advance. However, it can be very useful to do so, and that's what Delegation Poker is for.
Think about it from your perspective now. When your manager assigns you a project, does that person expect you to:
- Validate your decisions with them? (Level 3 - Consult)
- Make decisions together? (Level 4 - Agree)
- Make your own decisions and simply keep them informed? (Level 6 - Inform)
- You do the work independently? (Level 7 - Delegate)
In this situation, most of us guess. And when we guess wrong, we either overstep our boundaries without knowing it, or we waste everyone's time with unnecessary checks.
How to use reverse delegation poker
But what if your manager has never heard of delegation poker? Good question! The reality is that you don't need your manager to be familiar with the framework. You just need to start a conversation.
Here's what you can say: “Hey, can we try something? I want to make sure I'm clear on how you want me to handle decisions on this project. Can we discuss a few scenarios?”
You don't even need to formally use the levels with numbers. You can hide all that a bit and just use the idea behind each level.
The magic isn't in the tools or the framework. The magic is in asking the question that most people never ask and that most managers never think to clarify.
The real lesson of Management 3.0
Even after 10 years of practice, I regularly see people holding back from using certain tools for fear that it won't go well. I see this with team leaders towards their managers, but to be clear, I also see missed opportunities by managers towards their own managers.
My advice? Start with something small and low-risk. Test the approach on a simple decision before using it for more important issues.
Sometimes it's easier to think about the intention behind the tool. What conversation does this tool allow me to have that I couldn't have otherwise? That's where the real power of Management 3.0 tools lies.
This conversation reminded me why I love teaching this approach. It's not because it creates better managers. It's because it gives everyone the language and courage to improve how we work together.
You don't need permission to do this. You just need to start the conversation.
To go further:
➡️ Management 3.0: The Agile Leadership Techniques
