Harmonizing with RACIs — Whiteboard Walks

Business is complex. The bigger they are, the more complex they get.

When your team is small you can afford to be flexible. If the vision is shared you can improvise the execution.

Three people playing jazz, called start-up jazz band

But jazz doesn’t scale.

Many people playing instruments, sounding like chaos.

So, how do you keep tempo as you grow?

One of my favorite tools is the RACI.

The RACI is a tool for coordinating the decision-making roles of individuals, teams, or functions. It’s a framework that identifies the 4 types of roles for each decision.

Responsible - they’re the ones who do the work.

Accountable - they’re the final decision-maker.

Consulted - they’re engaged as counsel.

Informed - they’re brought into the loop after the fact.

By breaking down everyone’s role within a process, you can provide clarity and reduce potential friction.

To bring the concept to life, let’s stretch our musical analogy and show how a RACI can help to clarify the roles of a big team.

RACIs are generally applied to a single process or decision, so imagine we’re building one for one segment of the show – a jazz-flute solo.

The jazz flutist is playing a solo. Labels are called out below.

Responsible - The Solo Flutist. They make the magic happen.

Accountable - The Conductor. They oversee the whole thing. If the audience isn’t happy, the buck stops with them.

Consulted - The Percussionist. They’re at the back, but important. They consult on the tempo and volume. They're not the star, but they help make the star shine brighter.

Informed - The Rest of the Band. They aren't in the spotlight, but they need to know when it’s time to jump back in.

How do RACIs help?

Everyone Knows Their Part: How would it sound if the Tuba jumped in for that solo? With a RACI, every team member knows their role.

No Stepping on Toes: In an orchestra, you don't have six people trying to be the conductor.

Smooth Transitions: Knowing who's accountable allows for quicker decisions, and nobody needs to question who’s up next.

Harmony, Not Chaos: When everyone knows their role, you're not second-guessing or interrupting. You're making music.

If your team feels more like a garage band than an orchestra, it’s probably time to try a RACI.

Liked the piece? Enraged that I didn’t include S [support] in this piece on RACIs? Bring it on.

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