Live the ARCI Lifestyle
Failure isn't just black or white; reasons vary from choice to circumstance. Embrace learning from each setback to grow beyond blame and binary thinking. Happy week ahead!
"No one feels responsible for this."
"I thought you agreed to do it?"
In the corporate world, I have often encountered structures so heavily matrixed that no one knows who is accountable for what. This can lead to a lot of confusion.
To help clear up this muddle, I want to share with you a go-to tool for me that helps clarify such situations: ARCI*. It is a simple framework designed to guide towards understanding how different people contribute to a piece of work.
Here are the 4 components:
A = Accountable.
Who is ultimately answerable for the work? Whose number should be called for it? Unlike the other elements, there should be only 1 person for this.
R = Responsible.
Who is responsible for doing the work? Who knows the details?
C = Consulted.
Who needs to be involved before significant decisions are made?
I = Informed.
Who must be informed after decisions have been made and the work is completed?
When a new piece of work lands in a team that is otherwise flat, having an ARCI discussion can have great benefit. It clears things up, anticipates and prevents misunderstandings, and exposes differences in assumptions. Yes, this can lead to conflict early on, but in my view, it's a healthy conflict.
*A related model is called RACI. However, I prefer to put Accountability first!