article thumbnail

To Hold Someone Accountable, First Define What Accountable Means

Harvard Business Review

As prescribed in the commonly used responsibility models — RACI, RAPID, and the others — accountability should fall to one (and only one) person per item, even if the work involved requires input and contributions from others. Sound familiar? The problem, in our view, started at the moment Madison was named accountable.

article thumbnail

Why Decisions Get Second-Guessed, and What to Do About It

Harvard Business Review

This can happen easily when an organization is growing, and decision-making rights have been delegated across a larger number of people. Take advantage of one of the many good models out there, such as RACI , to help you define various roles and responsibilities from start to finish. Sometimes he or she needn’t have been.

RACI 8