1-3-1 Delegation Worksheet

You can copy this method and do it yourself. Teach the team to bring one issue, three options, and one recommendation instead of a raw problem. Buy Now is the packaged Notion worksheet you duplicate for every decision they hand up, so you are not rebuilding the form from a blank doc.

Tool 1 of the Restoration Leadership Toolkit. The line is: stop bringing me problems. Start bringing me decisions. The 1-3-1 method trains your people to think like owners. You keep one job: approve, tweak, or redirect.

The old way vs the 1-3-1 way

The old way (escalation): “Hey boss, the dehu on the Maple St job died. What do you want me to do?” You just took back the problem, the thinking, and the decision. That is three jobs.

The 1-3-1 way (delegation): “The dehu on Maple St died. Here are three options I looked at, here is the cost of each, and here is what I would do. Just need your yes.” You own one job: the decision.

The rule

• 1. One issue. State the decision that is actually needed, in one or two sentences. Not the whole story. The fork in the road.
• 3. Three real options. Three things you could actually do. Each with pros, cons, and a rough cost or effort. “Do nothing” can be one of the three when it is honest.
• 1. One recommendation. The option they would pick if it were their call, and why in one line.
• A default. What they will do on their own if they do not hear back by a deadline, so the job does not stall waiting on you.

Stuck at two options? Push for a third. Even “do nothing and revisit Friday” or “escalate to the carrier.” A real third option is where the good thinking usually hides.

How to install it

1. Explain the rule to the team once, out loud. Pin the format where decisions get made: truck, office, group chat.
2. When someone brings a raw problem, ask: “What are your three options, and which do you recommend?” Then wait.
3. Run at least five real 1-3-1 conversations before you decide it “isn’t working.” Approve the recommendation whenever it is reasonable.
4. Resist solving it yourself, even when you are faster. Let them carry it. That is the hard part.
5. Note who takes to it quickly. That is a signal for your future-manager pick.

The first few times, the 1-3-1s will be lopsided. Three fake options, or a recommendation with no reasoning. Coach it. Do not grade it. The goal is a team that brings you thinking, not just questions. Phase done when at least one person is bringing 1-3-1s without being reminded.

The worksheet (copy this)

Duplicate a page or print a half-sheet for every decision that gets handed up. Fill it in this order.

Who and when

• Prepared by
• Date
• Job / account (if any)
• How urgent: Today / This week / No rush

1. The issue / decision needed

One or two sentences. What decision are we actually making? Why does it need a decision now? Then one more line: what happens if we do nothing / decide nothing?

3. The three options

For each option write four lines:

• What it is
• Pros (two bullets)
• Cons (two bullets)
• Rough cost / effort

1. My recommendation

I recommend Option __. Why (one or two lines). What I need from you: a yes / a budget approval / a different call / a quick conversation.

What I will do if I do not hear back

• If I do not hear back by: (date / time)
• I will go ahead and: (the default)
• Owner is OK with me proceeding this way unless they say otherwise

Owner decision / sign-off

• Approved as recommended / Approved with changes / Chose a different option / Let’s talk
• If changed, what
• Any conditions or budget cap
• Owner name and date

Owner gut-check before you sign

Could this person have made this call without me? If yes, tell them so, and next time push it all the way down to them. That is how the bottleneck clears.

This worksheet is Weeks 3-4 of the 90-Day Doer-to-Leader Transition Plan. After it sticks, write decision rights (who decides what, up to what dollar amount) so people stop defaulting to you out of habit. Hand off one decision completely and do not take it back.

A prompt you can give your own Claude if you want it walked: convert this escalated question into one issue, three options with pros/cons/cost, one recommendation, and a default if I do not answer by a deadline.

If you want the packaged worksheet

You can run 1-3-1 on a legal pad. Buy Now is the Notion page delivered by email after checkout. Duplicate it (··· → Duplicate) for every decision so the master stays clean. The fields, the option tables, the default, and the sign-off are already laid out. Same Square button at the top of this page.

Pairs with the 90-Day Doer-to-Leader Transition Plan (Weeks 3-4) and the Owner Dependency Audit when you are ready to map who should decide. Matching Claude skill: delegation-1-3-1. Coaching aid, not legal or HR advice.