Delegation is about trust, not story points or team capacity (or anything else)

Pick whichever delegation framework you want—team capacity, skills matching, cost-benefit, any of them. None of those will ever outperform one thing: a trusting relationship between you and your report.

Trust runs both ways. When it’s present, your job becomes easier, and your reports gain access to opportunities that would never show up in a checklist.

A trusting relationship means you can delegate based on implicit knowledge that the other person can handle the responsibility. No amount of time estimates, story points, or productivity metrics will give you that signal. And it means your report understands that anything you delegate carries an opportunity baked in, not just a task.

This becomes a reliable recipe for them not only taking ownership willingly, but also executing the work with exceptional care.

If you’re a manager who wants to get better at delegating, spend less time perfecting your user stories and more time building trust with your team.