Team essential 7: ROLE CLARITY

Look at the avoidance we see nowadays!

"It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it."

In teams and even more in a crisis, clarity of roles is crucial. When every team member knows exactly what their responsibilities are, it eliminates confusion and streamlines efforts. 

When we avoid clear roles in the end will come to the conclusion we have a meeting culture or an email culture.. why? Because when there are no clear roles, who do we need to invite in the meeting, who will feel responsible or who will lead all the actions? So then we tend to invite everyone, at least hopefully someone will step up and do the job. Same with emails. If no one has a clear role or responsibility, we better copy in everyone, at least someone will hopefully answer your question!

Also, a great tip if you have lots of meetings.. even though you want team spirit to prevail, you might want to avoid the word "WE" definitely when you discuss actions and decisions, as there you need a definite "I" and "You", so everybody knows the role to play when you finish and walk out the door.

Clear roles allow the team to work in sync, preventing duplication of work and missed opportunities. It ensures that tasks are completed efficiently and that everyone is pulling in the same direction. 

Without role clarity, chaos can take over as team members stumble over each other’s work. Clear roles provide structure and focus, keeping the team aligned even in the most challenging situations.

No Role = No Responsibility = No Accountability

Reflective Question: Does your team have a clear understanding of their individual roles, especially when navigating a crisis?