Clarify Roles with RACI
Three people each thought someone else was handling the launch email. Nobody was. RACI is a dead-simple chart that ends this: for each task, one person is Responsible (does it), one is Accountable (owns the outcome), some are Consulted, and the rest are just Informed. Fifteen minutes with this chart prevents the most expensive sentence in teamwork: 'I thought you had it.'
TL;DR / Quick Fix
Quick fix: for any task where ownership is fuzzy, write a tiny RACI — one Responsible doer, exactly one Accountable owner, plus who to Consult and Inform. The magic is the single Accountable: when one name owns the outcome, nothing falls through the cracks. Do it at the kickoff.
Follow these steps
- List the tasks that keep slipping. Write down the recurring tasks where ownership is currently 'everybody' — which means nobody. Launches, reports, client follow-ups: the usual suspects.
- Assign exactly one Accountable per task. Accountable means the buck stops here — one name, not a team. Multiple accountables means zero accountables; this single-owner rule is the entire point.
- Name the Responsible doer. Responsible is who does the work — it can differ from Accountable. A junior can be Responsible for drafting while the lead stays Accountable for the result.
- Fill in Consulted and Informed. Consulted: people whose input you need before acting. Informed: people who just need to know after. Most confusion lives in these two columns — be explicit.
- Publish it where work happens. A RACI in a forgotten doc helps no one. Pin it in the team channel, link it from the project doc — see the kickoff habit for when to create it.
- Revisit when roles change. New hire, departure, reorg — any of these silently invalidates the chart. Review it quarterly or whenever the 'I thought you had it' moment recurs.
What NOT to do
- Do not assign two Accountables. Shared accountability is no accountability — the buck must stop at exactly one name.
- Do not RACI everything. Routine tasks with clear owners do not need the chart; reserve it for the fuzzy, cross-team, dropped-ball work.
- Do not confuse Consulted with approval. Consulted means heard, not veto — otherwise every task needs five signatures.
- Do not file it and forget it. An outdated RACI actively misleads; treat it as a living doc or delete it.
Frequently asked questions
What do the letters stand for?
Responsible (does the work), Accountable (owns the outcome — exactly one), Consulted (gives input), Informed (gets updates).
Is RACI too corporate for a small team?
The full matrix is; the idea is not. Even three people benefit from writing down who owns what — shrink the ceremony, keep the clarity.
What is the difference between Responsible and Accountable?
Responsible does, Accountable answers for. One task can have several Responsible contributors but only one Accountable owner.