The delegation dial
Outcome
You can decide, for any task, how much to let AI do on its own — and you understand why "more automated" isn't always "better."
Concept
There's a ladder of how much you hand to AI: from asking it a question, to letting it work alongside you, to letting it run a whole task on its own while you review afterward. It's tempting to think climbing the ladder is the goal. It isn't. The right rung for a task depends on two things — how much you trust the AI to get it right without you watching, and how bad it would be if it got it wrong. Low stakes and high trust: let it run. High stakes or low trust: stay close and check every step, or do the work to make it reliable first (everything you learned in the reliability phase). Skilled people don't live on one rung — they move up and down depending on the task in front of them. Knowing which rung you're on, and why, is the judgment that holds all of this together.
Weak approach vs. strong approach
The ask
I'll let the AI handle all of it — drafting the client contract, scheduling the follow-ups, summarizing the financials. Less for me to do.
What comes back
The contract goes out with a liability clause that doesn't match what you discussed — the AI filled the gap plausibly but wrong. The financial summary looks clean but misread one column, understating a cost by $4,000. You don't catch either because you handed off the checking too. The time you saved drafting you now spend apologizing and redoing work.
Try it
Take three tasks you might use AI for. For each, rate two things from one to five: how much you'd trust AI to do it alone, and how bad it would be if it were wrong. Decide the rung for each — let it run, work alongside it, or keep it out.
What to look for: Notice how the answer tracks the stakes, not the type of task — and that the higher you'd let it go, the more you'd want a way to check it.
Takeaway
How much to delegate is a choice, not a default. Match it to trust and stakes — and remember that the more you hand off, the more your job becomes checking, not doing.
Your turn
What's the task?
Or start from one of these
How much would you trust AI to do this right without you watching?
If it got it wrong, how bad would that be?
Answer both to find the rung.
2 more to go — the dial settles once every factor is set.