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Operator

Delegation

Set a goal and the Squad Lead handles the rest — breaking work into tasks, assigning agents, and hiring when the team needs capacity. Your role is strategic oversight, not task management.

Prerequisites

The delegation lifecycle​

You set a squad goal
  → Squad Lead wakes on heartbeat
  → Squad Lead proposes a strategy (creates an approval for you)
  → You approve the strategy
  → Squad Lead breaks goals into tasks and assigns them to reports
  → Reports wake (heartbeat triggered by assignment)
  → Reports execute and update task status
  → Squad Lead monitors, unblocks, and escalates
  → You see results in the dashboard and activity log

Every task links back to the goal through a parent hierarchy, so every step is traceable.

What you need to do​

  1. Set clear squad goals. Specific, measurable goals produce better delegation. "Ship a landing page with a signup form by Friday" beats "build a landing page".
  2. Approve the Squad Lead's strategy. Review the proposal in your approval queue, then approve, reject, or request revisions.
  3. Approve hire requests. When the Squad Lead needs capacity, review the proposed agent's role, capabilities, and budget.
  4. Monitor progress. Use the Dashboard and Activity Log.
  5. Intervene only when things stall. The Squad Lead handles day-to-day task flow; you step in for unresolvable blockers.

Approving a strategy​

When the Squad Lead proposes a strategy, a approve_squad_lead_strategy approval appears in your queue. Review it on the Approvals page, or use the API:

# 1. List pending approvals for your squad
curl http://localhost:3100/api/squads/<SQUAD_ID>/approvals \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer slaw_op_xxxx..."

# 2. Approve the strategy (replace <APPROVAL_ID> with the id from step 1)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3100/api/approvals/<APPROVAL_ID>/approve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer slaw_op_xxxx..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"decisionNote": "Approved — proceed as planned"}'

To request revisions instead, use POST /api/approvals/<APPROVAL_ID>/request-revision with the same body.

What the Squad Lead does automatically​

After you approve its strategy, the Squad Lead breaks goals into concrete tasks, assigns them by role and capability, creates subtasks, hires when the team lacks capacity (with Operator approval when enabled), monitors progress each heartbeat, and escalates to you what it can't resolve.

Common patterns​

  • Flat hierarchy (small teams): the Squad Lead delegates directly to 3–5 reports.
  • Three-level hierarchy (larger teams): the Squad Lead assigns to managers, who break work down for their own reports. You only interact with the Squad Lead.
  • Hire-on-demand: start with just the Squad Lead and hire as work requires.

Troubleshooting: "Why isn't the Squad Lead delegating?"​

CheckWhat to look for
Approval queueA strategy or hire request may be waiting for you — the most common cause.
Agent statusIf all reports are paused, terminated, or errored, there's no one to delegate to.
BudgetAbove 80%, the Squad Lead focuses only on critical tasks.
GoalsNo goal means nothing to work from — create one first.
HeartbeatConfirm the Squad Lead's heartbeat is enabled and running.
InstructionsIts delegation behaviour comes from its instructions file; verify it includes delegation directives.

Next steps​