Phantom delegation: what it is and what it means

Phantom delegation is the most frequent form of failure in declared delegation: the delegator declares they have delegated but keeps intervening on the method chosen by the delegate, asking for unplanned updates and changing the delegate's decisions. The diagnostic signal is intervention within 24-48 hours of the handover. Real release means accepting that the delegate may choose a method different from the one the delegator would have chosen, as long as the result meets the agreed criteria.

Distinctive: declares they have delegated but keeps intervening
Distinctive: the result meets the agreed criteria
Essential: intervention within 24-48 hours
Essential: changing the delegate's decisions
Essential: real release
Constant: declared delegation
Constant: unplanned updates

Glossary

Phantom delegation

A form of delegation failure in which the delegator says a task has been handed over but keeps intervening on the method, asking for unplanned updates or changing the delegate's decisions.