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Video 20.3: The Team Lead and Delegation

Course: Claude Code - Parallel Agent Development Section: S20 - Agent Teams Video Length: 4 minutes Presenter: Daniel Treasure

Opening Hook

As the Team Lead, you have two very different roles you can play: you can be a hands-on builder who codes alongside your teammates, or you can shift into pure coordination mode and let your team do all the coding. Let's explore both and understand when to use each.

Key Talking Points

What to say:

The Two Modes of Team Leadership

  1. Builder Mode (Default)
  2. You code, think, and contribute alongside teammates
  3. Full access to all Claude Code tools and workflows
  4. You can work on your own tasks while teammates work on theirs
  5. Good for: smaller teams, when you want to implement something yourself, mentoring by doing

  6. Example: "I'm building the API while my teammate builds the UI"

  7. Delegate Mode

  8. You step back from coding completely
  9. Your only actions: spawn teammates, message teammates, shutdown teammates, manage tasks
  10. You cannot write code, run commands, or interact with files
  11. Claude becomes a pure orchestration agent for you
  12. Good for: larger teams, when your focus is architecture and coordination, when you want clear separation of concerns
  13. Example: "I'm the lead who defines the vision; my team implements it"

How to Toggle Delegate Mode - Press Shift+Tab to toggle between Builder and Delegate modes - The display shows your current mode - Switching is instantaneous - You can toggle back and forth as needed during a session

Delegate Mode Capabilities - Spawn teammates: "Create a team with a frontend specialist and a backend specialist" - Direct messaging: send targeted messages to specific teammates - Task management: assign work, view progress, adjust priorities - Team shutdown: "Ask the testing teammate to shut down" (graceful termination) - Team cleanup: "Clean up the team" (remove shared resources) - That's it. No file editing, no terminal commands, no coding.

Delegate Mode Restrictions - Cannot write or modify code - Cannot run terminal commands - Cannot edit configuration files - Cannot interact with the project directly - All your work goes through asking teammates to do things - This forces clear communication and task delegation

When to Use Each Mode

Builder Mode When: - You're in a smaller team (1-2 teammates) - You want to mentor by coding alongside - You have specific implementation details you want to handle - You're comfortable context-switching between your work and oversight - The project needs your hands-on expertise

Delegate Mode When: - You have 3+ teammates - You've designed the architecture and teammates are executing - Your lead doesn't need to code (they're a PM, architect, or orchestrator) - You want to enforce clear separation between strategy and implementation - You're testing or demoing without wanting to be distracted by coding

The Lead's Real Superpower - Without delegate mode: you're one person doing two jobs (coding and leading) - With delegate mode: you're a multiplier, enabling others - Your context window is 100% dedicated to team vision, not line-by-line code - Teammates report progress; you synthesize and redirect - This is what scales

What to show on screen:

  • Terminal with an active team (lead + 2-3 teammates)
  • The indicator showing current mode (Builder or Delegate)
  • Show Shift+Tab toggle in action, switching modes
  • Show the interface changing: in Builder mode, full tool set visible; in Delegate mode, restricted options
  • Demonstrate a message to a teammate
  • Show task list interaction in both modes
  • Show the clear difference in what's available

Demo Plan

0:00-0:45 - Set Up an Active Team - Show a team that's already running (or spawn one quickly) - Narrate: "We have a team running with me as the lead and two teammates" - Point out the lead indicator in the interface - Show current mode: Builder (default) - Explain: "Right now I have full access to everything"

0:45-1:30 - Show Builder Mode in Action - From builder mode, write a quick code change or file edit - Show the full tool set: file operations, terminal commands, etc. - Demonstrate sending a message to a teammate - Show task assignment - Narrate: "In Builder mode, I'm a team member first, a lead second"

1:30-2:15 - Toggle to Delegate Mode - Press Shift+Tab - Show the mode indicator change - Narrate: "Now I've switched to Delegate mode. Let's see what changes" - Try to run a terminal command: it fails or shows "not available in Delegate mode" - Try to edit a file: also not available - Show the restricted interface

2:15-3:00 - Demonstrate Delegate Mode Capabilities - Send a direct message to a teammate: "Hey, can you add error handling to the API?" - Show the message delivered - Assign a task from the task list - Ask a teammate to shut down (demonstrate the graceful shutdown) - Narrate: "My only jobs now are to guide, direct, and synthesize. The team does the work" - Show how clean and focused this feels for pure leadership

3:00-3:30 - Compare and Contrast - Toggle back to Builder mode to show the switch - Narrate: "Both modes are powerful. Which you use depends on your role and team size" - Give a quick scenario example: "If I'm the product lead with a 4-person team, Delegate mode. If I'm a senior dev mentoring two juniors, Builder mode."

3:30-4:00 - Lead-out - Confirm that mode switching is a choice, not a requirement - Next video is about spawning and managing teammates - Tease: "We'll learn how to create teams with specific roles and responsibilities"

Code Examples & Commands

Toggling Delegate Mode

# In Claude Code, press this keyboard shortcut:
Shift+Tab

# Toggle shows in the interface. No command needed—it's a keyboard shortcut.

What You Can Do in Each Mode

Builder Mode (All Available):

- Read and write files
- Run terminal commands
- Interact with project directly
- Send messages to teammates
- Manage tasks
- Spawn/shutdown teammates
- Coordinate team

Delegate Mode (Restricted):

- Send messages to teammates
- Manage task assignments and priorities
- Spawn new teammates
- Shutdown teammates gracefully
- View task status
- [Everything else is blocked]

Example Delegation Requests

# In Delegate Mode, you speak to teammates:
> @api_dev, can you add request validation to the endpoints?

> @frontend_dev, the database schema is ready. You can start on the form components now.

> Let's pause—ask all teammates to report their current status.

> Clean up the team (this removes shared resources and shuts down gracefully)

Example Builder Mode Collaboration

# In Builder Mode, you write code alongside:
# You edit a file
$ nano src/api.js
# [make changes]

# You run tests
$ npm test

# You also coordinate
> @qa_tester, the new endpoint is at /api/users. Please test it.

Gotchas & Tips

Gotchas: - Delegate mode is a toggle, not a setting in config: it resets to Builder mode if you close Claude Code - You cannot toggle Delegate mode if you're in the middle of writing code; finish the action first - In Delegate mode, you CANNOT write code even if you want to urgently fix something; you must ask a teammate - Shift+Tab might conflict with other terminal keybindings; if it doesn't work, check your terminal settings - Delegate mode shows you as "Delegate" in team status, so teammates know you're in coordinator role

Tips: - Use Delegate mode in recordings or demos to showcase pure orchestration; it looks cleaner - For real team work, Builder mode is fine if the team is small (1-2 teammates) - If you ever feel like you're overloaded, toggle to Delegate mode to force yourself to delegate - Delegate mode is great for teaching: "I'm not solving this for you; you figure it out" - You can ask teammates for status updates more easily in Delegate mode because you have fewer distractions

Lead-out

Now that you understand your role as the lead, let's learn how to actually spawn teammates with the right focus areas. In the next video, we'll explore natural language spawning, assigning roles, and picking which Claude model each teammate should use.

Reference URLs

  • Claude Code Team Architecture: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code/docs/agent-teams
  • Delegation Patterns in AI Systems: https://www.anthropic.com/research/agent-delegation
  • Keyboard Shortcuts in Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code/docs/keyboard-shortcuts

Prep Reading

  • Think about what a "pure orchestrator" lead looks like in your work context
  • Review examples of delegation in project management or team leadership
  • Understand the cognitive load difference between "doing" and "guiding"
  • Reflect on a time you've felt split between contributing and leading; how would Delegate mode help?

Notes for Daniel

This is a conceptual video, but the mode toggle is tactile and satisfying to show. Make sure Shift+Tab works smoothly before recording; if it doesn't, troubleshoot the terminal keybinding. The key insight is that Delegate mode isn't about abdication—it's about focus. Emphasize that even the most hands-on lead can benefit from toggling in when they need to orchestrate. Don't make it sound like Delegate mode is "for leaders only"; it's a tool for anyone who wants to shift their role.

Keep the mood positive about both options. Some viewers will prefer Builder mode; others will love Delegate. The message is: you get to choose. End on the note that next video is about spawning—that's the exciting part.