Blogs

Making Things Clear

Sometimes it may be helpful to step back from our daily work, almost as if we are observing it from a balcony, to look for patterns of behavior that may be getting in the way of being most effective.

Here are some things you might notice

Concern over who makes decisions

• Blaming of others for not getting the job done
• Out of balance workloads
• Lack of action because of ineffective communications
• Questions over who does what
• A “we-they” attitude
• A “not sure, so take no action” attitude
• Idle time or the attention to non-essential work to fill time
• A reactive work environment
• Poor morale
• Multiple “stops” needed to find an answer to a question

These behaviors are often symptoms of ROLE CONFUSION.

When there are process or role ambiguities in a team or project, a RACI CHART can help to bring the differences between role conceptions (What a person thinks his/her job is and how the person has been taught to do it), role expectations (What others in the organization think the person is responsible for, and how he/she should carry out those responsibilities), and role behaviors (What a person actually does in carrying out the job or task) into the open so that they can be resolved.

The RACI process helps to clarify “who is to do what, with whom and when.

RACI is an acronym for

RESPONSIBLE

ACCOUNTABLE

CONSULTED

INFORMED

Here is a simple example of a RACI chart: 

Two GO classes have ben scheduled to learn more about using RACI:  November 21 and December 6.
For more information and instructions on using RACI, click here.