Hand Cowork a Multi-Step Job
With a read-only assistant trusted, you advance the dial: delegate a whole multi-step job on a sandbox folder. The three management moves — steer, permit, review — are how you stay in charge.
The three management moves
Cowork suits multi-step, file-heavy, judgement-heavy work where you want a finished artefact — not an answer. Managing it is managing a person.
Guide it mid-task
Correct course as it works — "not that folder", "use last quarter instead".
Grant access on purpose
Give it the folder and tools it needs — and nothing more. It asks before destructive actions.
Sign off the result
Accept or reject the finished deliverable before it's used anywhere.
Write a delegation brief
A clear brief is the difference between a finished deliverable and a mess. Fill it in and watch the brief — and its clarity score — build.
The brief Cowork receives
Start on a sandbox. Practise delegation on a test copy of a folder first — a clear goal, deliberate access, and approval gates on anything destructive. This is the moment people feel it: you described a whole job and a finished thing came back.