You can download our free role clarity exercise here. This tool will guide you and your team through defining critical team functions, assigning them to the correct people, and clearly defining who plays what role in executing your team’s objectives. This exercise is a great first step in role clarity and works hand in hand with our RACI Chart Exercise and Google Slides Template that you can use to further define and communicate team functions and roles.
We’ve combined the RACI chart with a role-defining exercise and Google Slides template so you can document your findings with your team and communicate them with others in your organization. You can print the two exercises and copy our Google Slides template to your presentation for your team.
Role Clarity and Reaching Team Goals
You can read about role clarity and why it is essential, but for this exercise, we will say it’s the foundation for how the work gets done. How the team works together to reach its shared goals.
In Improving Role Clarity Within a Team, Gemma Norton suggests beginning with the team’s critical functions to improve role clarity, which are the tasks that link to the goals the team was formed to reach.
A good strategy cascade will already be in the minds of everyone on the team. However, in your organization, you may have to work to find a written set of objectives and functions that align with them. Or you could stop reading now and work on Uniting Purpose Through Strategy Cascade, returning once you have implemented a process for communicating strategy and aligning team members.
The Role Clarity Exercise
We designed this exercise to help any team identify team functions and discuss:
- Whose responsibility they are
- Who is accountable for them
- Who needs to be consulted to get them done
- Who needs to be informed about the progress and how it goes
This exercise requires you to know the team’s critical functions so you can ensure they are being completed. It also requires printer access, pens, and a team meeting.
Begin with the team function cards and have everyone fill out as many as they need to describe what they do for the team. There are formal functions, like those critical functions, that support the team’s required outputs, but there are also informal functions.
Informal Functions
Informal functions are those that are not directly inputting work but support the team and contribute to the work environment. This may be making coffee every morning, checking in with other teams, managing Slack channels, etc.
These must be listed and discussed so that those performing them get the credit they deserve for seeking out these supporting tasks and can share them across the team. In some cases, discussion may reveal that they are unnecessary and can be discontinued. For example, perhaps it’s better for the team that an intern orders coffee or that communication happens in a cross-department meeting rather than an informal conversation over lunch.
This is an excellent opportunity to shed light on unsung heroes, find balance, and improve the team’s efficiency.
When is the Role Clarity Exercise Most Effective?
This exercise is effective for improving efficiencies and work balance in any team. If you have done this same exercise before, you can repeat it regularly to ensure your team is working at its best.
If your team works in a dynamic or ambiguous environment, where roles overlap, or handoffs between teams and positions aren’t always clear, the Role Clarity Exercise is especially valuable. This tool helps establish clarity and alignment on roles and responsibilities while fostering open conversations about team dynamics.
Using a RACI Chart: Understanding the Four Roles
The RACI chart, or matrix, is a widely used tool in project management for defining roles and responsibilities. Initially developed in the mid-20th century, it helps teams clarify accountability and decision-making by assigning four key roles: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. This structured approach improves efficiency, reduces ambiguity, and ensures smooth collaboration across projects and industries.
Responsible
This person (or people) actively completes the task or deliverable. They’re on the tools—writing the code, designing the assets, conducting the research, or doing whatever the task requires. Every task must have at least one Responsible party, but depending on the work, there could be several.
Accountable
The Accountable person oversees the work and ensures it meets expectations. They delegate tasks, review progress, and ultimately own the outcome. Unlike the Responsible person, there is only one Accountable person per task, preventing confusion over who has the final say. Accountability is an excellent opportunity for growth and collaboration. I highly recommend reading Christi Scarrow’s article “Workplace Accountability: Creating an Accountability Mindset” to learn more about accountability and how it doesn’t have to be a dirty word.
Consulted
Consulted parties provide input, expertise, or feedback throughout the process. They have an invested interest in the outcome, so their insights help shape the work. This could be someone from another department, a subject matter expert, or a key stakeholder. Not every task needs a Consulted party, but when input is required, it’s best to keep it streamlined—one representative per affected team works best.
Informed
Informed individuals need to stay in the loop but don’t contribute directly to the work. They might be leaders, department heads, or cross-functional partners who need to understand progress and outcomes without getting lost in the details. Keeping them updated ensures alignment without unnecessary meetings or back-and-forth.
Download Exercises
Team Functions Exercise
RACI Chart Exercise
Google Slides Template
Document Roles
If you go through the exercise successfully, you will have an organized RACI chart you can use to update roles and job descriptions.
We’ve developed a Google Slide template you can copy to help you define everyone’s roles and share the exercise results. You can duplicate the Google slide to have one for each team member. Once you have created these, take a quick ‘pulse-check’ with team members to ensure they align with your discussion and their jobs.
Ask team members to rate their agreement with these statements:
✅ I know what my job description is.
✅ I know where my position sits within the organization.
✅ I have clearly defined goals.
This template includes:
- Full Name & Title – Establishes identity within the team.
- Location – Helps teams understand where colleagues are based, especially in remote or hybrid environments.
- Short Bio – Adds a personal touch, helping colleagues connect.
- Job Description & Overview – Summarize the role in a few sentences.
- Skills – Highlights key competencies and areas of expertise.
- How I Like to Help – Describes how they can best support teammates and be asked for help.
- RACI Chart Results – Reflects their responsibilities, accountability, consulted input, and need-to-know updates based on the role clarity exercise.
Follow-up Support
We hope this exercise helps you lead your team!
Remember to not let this exercise be a one-time discussion, but check in with team members throughout the year to ensure they are working. Changes in your organization or team will require updating the RACI chart and role descriptions!
If you have any questions or need further support, please reach out; we’d love to help.
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