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"We just have to solve for decision rights" is a thing I hear on repeat across industries.
"Once we clarify who 'owns the D' everything will smooth itself out," they say. But oops...
Thing is, chasing decision rights is distracting us from asking the right questions.
Don’t get me wrong. Unclarity of decision rights is real. And it’s painful. It just…isn’t the real problem. It’s a symptom. And solving it is like sticking bubblegum on a leaky faucet.
So if “Who has the D?” is the wrong question to be asking, what then should we be asking instead?
I’d vote for things like…
- How should work be flowing through our organization?
- What is the unique value each team or function brings to our outcomes?
- When and how should handoffs or collaboration be taking place?
- Whose inputs inform (and frankly, whose impede) which outcomes?
Questions around decision rights inevitably become battles of territory.
Questions around
Become conversations about thoughtfully designed organizations. And these conversations get us further faster. And when we land these, decision rights sort themselves.
When I work with leadership teams struggling with decision rights, I like to guide them through three core steps that reframe the conversation and focus on what matters.
Step 1: Role Chartering
Here, we ask every function or team to define its essence. Not just a list of responsibilities or things they’ve always done, but the few things they’re most uniquely positioned to do for the organization. What value does this team bring that no other team can?
This exercise is about uncovering clarity. On what each role should own, what it should let go of, and where its efforts make the biggest impact.
And once those role charters are defined, we step back and look at them together. Side by side, as a system.
Are all the essentials of organizational success captured? Is there unnecessary duplication? Are there critical gaps that leave the organization vulnerable? This collective view allows us to adjust and refine, ensuring that everything critical has its place—and no effort is wasted on redundancies or left to chance.
Step 2: Running the Narrative
With roles chartered, we move onto validating our choices. There’s no RACI-ing here – no decision matrices. Just taking a few examples and talking them through.
Maybe we start with the question of how an idea becomes a fully-formed product. Or how an inbound lead becomes a lifelong customer.
Whatever scenario is most relevant, we walk it through the system we’ve designed, narrating each step.
As we move through the process, we ask critical questions at each stage:
- Who is best positioned to make this decision?
- What inputs do they need?
- Are we experiencing friction at any handoffs?
This exercise doesn’t just validate the structure we’ve built—it highlights opportunities to fine-tune it. And it ensures that when decisions arise, they’re made by the people with the clearest perspective, the deepest expertise, and the right tools to act.
Step 3: Operationalizing the Commitments
Finally, we close by committing. Clarity is only as valuable as the action it drives.
As a leadership team, we align on how to hold ourselves accountable. How will we operationalize these role charters? How will we support decision-making at the right levels? How will we raise and resolve problems? And how will we adapt as the organization evolves?
This is how we move from asking “Who has the D?” to creating a system where decision rights are no longer a debate—they’re a natural part of the flow. And when work flows, everything gets easier: productivity, collaboration, and impact.
If your team has been struggling and you’re ready to leave the bubblegum behind? Reach out. Let’s talk about some real solutions.
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