The Ascent/Learn
The Ascent · Learn

Level 3 · Delegate — Cowork

Hand over the whole job

Stop asking one question. Hand Claude a whole multi-step job — then judge the finished deliverable, not each step.

The lineOne job at a time, you on the loop reviewing each result. Many jobs in parallel under standing rules is Level 4.
10 screens ≈ 15 min 10 floors to climb Full reference
Scroll, swipe or press ↓ · T light / darkBegin 01 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · What it is

01 The class

Hand over the doing

One brief in — Claude runs every step and hands back a finished deliverable. Like a new hire: brief the job, check the work.

  • Ask handed over the thinking

    One question, one answer, you do the rest.

  • Connect handed over the looking-up

    One action at a time, you approve each.

  • Delegate hands over the doing

    A whole multi-step job. You drove none of the steps.

Brief Turn my three meeting-note files into one weekly summary with decisions + owners.
Claude — runs each step in order
Readmerge all three note files12 notes → 1 threadidle
Extractpull decisions + action owners6 decisions · 9 actionsidle
Draftformat the one-page summarysummary.mdidle
Result weekly-summary.md

Now YOU review it — trace each figure to a source before you send. “Done” isn’t “correct.”

Press Run. The catch: it comes back finished, confident — and sometimes wrong.

The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 02 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · Anatomy of a brief

02 The shape of a hand-over

Write a brief, not a question

A brief is a job a stranger could run. Each part closes a gap Claude would otherwise fill with a guess.

Anatomy of a good briefExample
  1. Merge this week’s meeting notes into one summaryTaskwhat to do
  2. from @inputs/,Inputswhich files
  3. decisions and owners only — never guess an owner.Criteriawhat done is
  4. Save it to outputs/weekly-summary.md,Outputwhere it goes
  5. then list anything you assumed.Reportwhat to tell you
@ add files · / commands
Add one line to every brief: “If an input is missing or unclear, stop and list it — don’t guess.”
The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 03 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · The room

03 Set up once

Build the room once

A room is a standing space — a Project, or a project folder — that keeps the job between runs. Anything not in it doesn’t exist for the worker.

  • 1

    Inputs in, outputs out

    Raw material in inputs/; only finished work lands in outputs/.

  • 2

    The standing brief

    CLAUDE.md, which can import AGENTS.md: the job, “done”, the do-nots. Read first.

  • 3

    Skills

    Your method, saved once — the summary format travels with the room.

  • 4

    Subagents

    Focused helpers, each with only the tools its slice needs.

Explorer
weekly-summary (folder)
  • .claude (folder)
    • skills (folder) — your method, saved
    • agents (folder) — focused helpers
  • inputs (folder) — what you hand over
    • notes-mon.md
    • notes-wed.md
    • notes-fri.md
  • working (folder) — Claude’s drafts
  • outputs (folder) — Only finished work
  • AGENTS.md — The standing brief
  • CLAUDE.md — reads first · imports @AGENTS.md

Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md, which can import AGENTS.md. On Claude.ai the room is a Project; its saved instructions are the brief.

The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 04 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · The workflow

04 How a hand-over runs

Brief it, let it run, review it

You stop doing the steps and start setting the conditions for them.

  1. Step 01

    Brief it

    Task, inputs, “done”, output, report.

    • a checkable “done”
    • the do-nots
  2. Step 02

    Set up the room

    Once — every run reuses it.

    • inputs in inputs/
    • repeat method → a skill
  3. Step 03

    Let it run

    You’re on the loop, not in every step.

    • watch for two signals
    • don’t approve each step
  4. Step 04

    Review

    Grade it against your “done” clauses.

    • trace claims to source
    • redirect one slice
  5. Step 05

    Bank the brief

    The proven brief stays for next week.

    • save it in the room
    • next run starts here
Redirect if…
  • It silently changed the job
  • It ran on a missing input
On the loop is not out of the loop: the run is yours to judge, even when it looks finished.
The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 05 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · Done ≠ correct

05 Where the level lives or dies

Done isn’t correct

A deliverable is a stack of claims. Check each against its source — never against how confident it sounds.

  • Trace what carries weight

    Every number, owner and date — find its file and line.

  • Reconcile the counts

    Three files in? Three files should be cited.

  • Distrust fluent specifics

    A round, confident figure with no source is the tell.

  • Redirect surgically

    Keep what passed; name the one slice to fix.

weekly-summary.md0 / 4 traced

Migration approved — owner: Priya

✓ Found in notes-mon.md, line 14

Launch slips to Apr 3

✓ Found in notes-wed.md, line 8

$48,000 saved this quarter

✗ In no input file — the agent invented a plausible figure.

3 open questions routed to Finance

✓ Found in notes-fri.md, line 2

One claim traces to nothing — that’s the catch. “Finished” and “confident” told you nothing; the source did.

The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 06 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · Do it now

06 Do it now

Four small steps, in real Claude

  1. Step 1 of 4

    Hand over the mess

    Delegation starts with raw material, not a tidy question.

    You should see: Claude waiting for the brief, not guessing.

    paste into Claude
    Here are my rough notes — hold onto them, I'll tell you what I need next. [paste any messy notes]
    Open Claude

  2. Step 2 of 4

    Write a real brief

    Task, inputs, “done”, output, report — the five parts make it a job.

    You should see: A structured deliverable, not a chat reply.

    paste into Claude
    From those notes, produce a summary for my team: decisions made, action items with owners, open questions. Format it as a short doc I can paste into email. It's done when every decision has an owner and nothing appears that isn't in my notes. Then tell me what you assumed. If anything is missing, list it — don't guess.
    Open Claude

  3. Step 3 of 4

    Verify like a boss

    You check the work — so demand its assumptions.

    You should see: An honest list — this is your review checklist.

    paste into Claude
    List everything you assumed or guessed while writing that. What should I double-check before I share it?
    Open Claude

  4. Step 4 of 4

    Iterate once

    One sharp revision beats ten vague ones.

    You should see: The version you’d actually send.

    paste into Claude
    Tighten it: half the length, keep every decision and owner, lead with the single most important outcome.
    Open Claude

One step = one paste into Claude (the mobile app is perfect). Each step you mark done climbs a floor; progress saves on this device.

The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 07 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · Right level?

07 Decide

Is this a job to delegate?

Every week: turn three meeting-note files into one summary with decisions and owners. Which fits?

That’s Chat (Level 1) — one ask. A weekly, multi-step, reviewable job wastes its leverage there.
Open Ask
Level 3, right here. It passes all three tests: multi-step, repeatable, reviewable.
Do it yourself. Building a room for a single run is this level’s classic over-spend.

Pick the closest match — you’ll get a verdict.

The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 08 / 10
The AscentL3 · Delegate · Capstone

08 Capstone

One full delegation, coached

  1. Name a job that’s multi-step, repeatable and reviewable.
  2. Paste the prompt; answer one stage at a time.
  3. Find the planted error yourself — don’t ask if it’s sure.
About 20–30 minutes. You’re training two muscles: the brief and the review.
the capstone prompt
You are my coach for the Delegate level — handing you a whole multi-step job and reviewing the finished deliverable, not driving each step. Hold me to the standard; don't let me get away with a thin brief or a rubber-stamp review.

My job: [DESCRIBE THE MULTI-STEP, REPEATABLE JOB — e.g. "turn three meeting-note files into one weekly summary with decisions and owners"].

Walk me through it in order, one stage at a time, waiting for my answer before moving on:

1. BRIEF: Push me to write the job as ordered steps, the deliverable's exact shape, and a DONE-LOOKS-LIKE block with at least one acceptance clause AND one "do NOT..." clause. Make me include "if any input is missing or ambiguous, stop and list it — do not guess" and a WORK LOG line. Critique my draft against these.
2. DELEGATE: Tell me what to hand over and the autonomy boundary to state.
3. RUN IT: Produce the deliverable strictly to my brief — and deliberately plant one realistic, load-bearing error a careless reviewer would miss (a figure or owner that traces to no source). Tag every claim with its source.
4. REVIEW: Make me grade it clause-by-clause against my DONE block and trace every load-bearing number/owner/date to a source. Do NOT reveal the planted error. If I try to "ask you if you're sure," stop me and explain why that isn't verification.
5. REDIRECT: Have me write one surgical corrective turn naming what to keep and the single slice to fix.
6. BANK IT: Help me turn the proven brief into a standing brief for next week.
Open Claude
The Ascent · Learn · DelegateNext 09 / 10
The Ascent · Learn

Wrap-up · check yourself

You’ve got Delegate

Self-check0 / 4

Remember

Brief the job: task, inputs, “done”, output, report.
Build the room once — what’s not in it doesn’t exist for the worker.
Stay on the loop — redirect only on a scope change or a missing input.
Done isn’t correct — trace every claim to its source.

You’re ready when you brief with a testable “done”, trace claims to sources and bank the brief — and wish you could set rules once and run many jobs in parallel. That’s Level 4.

Next · Level 3½: The Workshop Full reference The overview