Table of Contents

Definition

The slow, unannounced expansion of what a hire is supposed to handle without a formal transfer of [Authority To Execute] to match. The operator silently widens the hire’s scope while the hire silently narrows the claim on the original domain. Both sides drift; neither side names it. The role description in the operator’s head no longer matches the role description in the hire’s head, and there is no [Scope Handoff Document] to arbitrate. The long-term failure mode every other Rung 2 term drifts toward if left unaddressed — [Role Transfer] without a [Scope Handoff Document] drifts, unaddressed [Control Snapback] drifts, unchecked [Override Patterns] drift.

Explanation

Nobody announces [Role Drift] because nobody experiences it as a single event. It accumulates in small, individually reasonable increments — the operator hands off one more task because the hire is capable, the hire quietly stops claiming a piece of the original job because it’s easier not to fight for it. Six months later, two people are running two different mental maps of the same role, and neither realizes how far apart the maps have grown until something breaks.

This is why [Role Drift] earns its place as the long-term failure mode of the whole Rung 2 family rather than a standalone problem. Every other term in that family — role transfer, control snapback, override patterns — describes a transition done well or done poorly. [Role Drift] is what happens to any of them left unattended. The fix isn’t more vigilance in the moment; it’s the written [Scope Handoff Document] that gives both sides something fixed to check the drift against.