Responsible or accountable?

Who's accountable? Who will be taking the ultimate responsibility? Who do we need to consult with?

These were questions I heard a few times this week when I was facilitating large-scale workshops with businesses and project teams. Sometimes I was asking the questions and sometimes the participants were.

When it comes to the ACTION part of a conversation, meeting or workshop, all the things that need to be done may seem detailed and complex. I like to step through a series of actions that help a team build up to making big impactful decisions.

One tool I use often is known by the acronym RACI - you may be familiar with it : Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. It's also known as a Responsibility Matrix.

Here's a visual RACI that I use in workshops and notes to help a team segment and separate out their thinking on responsibilities. (A lot of talk time can be taken up trying to work out the broad categories of action, let alone putting names next to them!) And identifying who is responsible and accountable early on in the process is a big help!

I enjoy help a team through their responsibilities and commitments stage of a workshop; I don't make the commitments for them, but I will provide a process that helps them work out the different types of responsibilities. 

Google RACI if you'd like to read up more on the process and be sure to print out my visual RACI (permanently on the Resources section of my website) and use it when you're next working out what needs to happen with actions and responsibilities. Now you're informed about RACI... you'reresponsible to do something with it!

FYI or more? How involved will people be...

When you engage with people, to get input or feedback or work with them to reach outcomes, how involved will they be? This week I’ve heard phrases like ‘consulting with’, ‘socialising the strategy’, ‘run it by them’ and ‘keep them in the loop’.
 
It’s vital that you plan for, and position, how involved people will be in you project, workshop, consultation. Position it clearly and upfront. You don’t want people coming along thinking their view is going to count if the ‘consultation’ is really about information. Or you ask about views and concerns but you have no way of incorporating them into the final design.
 
“Today’s meeting is for information only, to keep you up to date with progress…”
“Here’s what we want your input on; this part, not that part…”
“I’m getting your views on the project today and the ultimate decision will be made by the project sponsor...”
“We’re meeting with you to find out what your key concerns are so we can make changes to address them…”
 
Note the distinct differences:
Informing – it’s for information only so people understand what’s going on
Consulting – you seek feedback on the information, the alternatives or what might be decided on
Involving – you work with people to understand their concerns, and of course, you’re going to consider them
Collaborating – you work with people at every step of the way, working on alternatives and finding the solution with them
Empowering – you're giving the decision making power to them; you’ll do what they decide on.

It’s a broad spectrum from information through to empowering. And it’s much easier to engage and collaborate with people when you make it clear where you’re at.

 
So this is for your information (FYI). It’s up to you where you’d like to take it from here!