The best-known five come from nursing and are called the five rights: the right task, under the right circumstances, to the right person, with the right direction, and the right supervision. They were written for hospitals, where a bad delegation can hurt someone. They apply word for word to any team handing over work, and the last two, direction and supervision, are the ones most managers skip.
The five, translated for any team
Right task. Routine, predictable result, no judgment call mid-task. Not a crisis or a hard conversation.
Right circumstance. The person has the hours, the tools and a stable enough situation to do it well. A good task handed over during someone's worst week is the wrong circumstance.
Right person. Skill for this task, at least 70 percent of your standard. Not just whoever is nearest.
Right direction. A clear brief: result, audience, must-haves, due date, done checks. Spoken instructions are not direction. They are hope.
Right supervision. A review of the finished work against the brief, soon after it lands. Not watching the middle. Checking the end.
Why four and five get skipped
They take a few minutes before and after the work, and both feel optional in a busy week. They are the two principles that carry your standard to the other person and confirm it came through. Without them, delegation is just handing things out.
Where M-Tracker fits
Right direction and right supervision are what M-Tracker provides for every task. The brief is the direction, written once and visible to both people. When the work is sent, M-Tracker compares it with the brief and writes a plain review the person sees first, which is the supervision step done the moment the work is ready. The first three rights stay your judgment, and the capacity view helps with the second.
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Questions people ask
Are these the same as the 5 principles for effective delegation?
Related. The "effective delegation" lists are written for managers; the five rights come from nursing. Both land on brief and review.
Who is accountable if a delegated task fails?
The person who delegated keeps accountability for the decision and the supervision. The person doing it is responsible for the work.
Is right supervision the same as checking in?
No. Supervision reviews the result. Checking in interrupts the process.
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