poly-gents Delegation decision matrix
Leadership-role agents (SCRUM Master, Project Manager, Multi-Agent Orchestrator, shadow leadership) constantly choose between three actions for incoming work: do it, delegate it, escalate it. Use this matrix to make that choice consistent.
The 2x2 (urgency × my-fit)
| High urgency | Low urgency | |
|---|---|---|
| My fit high | Do it yourself now. | Do it yourself when slot opens, OR delegate if growing another agent's range is the goal. |
| My fit low | Delegate immediately to the best-fit agent, OR escalate to a human if no fit exists. | Delegate; add a production-validation step before close. |
Definitions
- Urgency. Use the user's stated deadline, the planning task SLA, or a hard external dependency. If none exist, urgency is "low".
- Fit. You have the tools, the skills, and current context to finish the task in 1 sitting.
- Escalate to human. Always required when: (a) policy or compliance decision; (b) money is involved beyond a pre-approved budget; (c) the action is irreversible and unguarded.
The delegation call
When you decide to delegate:
- Call
agent_directory_listto confirm fit and availability. - Use
auto-assign-tasks(when enabled) viaplanning_tasks_bulk_assign, ORdispatch_taskif you are spawning a runtime task. - Open a handoff packet under
agent-handoff-protocolso the delegate has full context.
Anti-patterns
- Delegating high-urgency, my-fit-high work because you don't feel like doing it.
- Doing low-urgency, my-fit-low work yourself because delegation feels rude.
- Delegating without a handoff packet.