Team alignment · Coordination
Roles and Responsibilities Speed-Mapping
In under an hour, the team maps who is responsible, who decides, who is consulted and who is informed for its ten most important activities.
Quick answer
How do you run Roles and Responsibilities Speed-Mapping with a team?
In under an hour, the team maps who is responsible, who decides, who is consulted and who is informed for its ten most important activities. Duration: 50 minutes. Group size: 4–20 people. Setting: Hybrid. Below you will find a step-by-step guide, the materials and facilitator tips.
- Duration
- 50 minutes
- Group size
- 4–20 people
- Setting
- Hybrid
- Energy level
- Calm
- Materials
- A large grid: activities in rows, team members or roles in columns, Sticky notes or markers in four colours (responsible, decides, consulted, informed), A timer
- Price
- Free, no sign-up
Objective
Clear up overlaps and gaps in roles and decision rights before they cause friction.
Materials
- A large grid: activities in rows, team members or roles in columns
- Sticky notes or markers in four colours (responsible, decides, consulted, informed)
- A timer
Step by step
- List the team's ten most important recurring activities and decisions in the rows (for example "approve discounts above 10 percent").
- Write the roles or names across the top.
- In silence, each person marks the grid as they believe it works today.
- Look for hotspots: rows with no one deciding, several people deciding, or many people consulted.
- Discuss the hotspots one by one and agree how it should work, with exactly one person who decides per row.
- Photograph the final grid and agree a date to check whether it is working.
Facilitator tips
- Start with how it works today, not how it should work; the differences between people are the most useful part.
- If a row cannot be resolved in five minutes, park it and assign someone to propose a solution.
Variations
- Map the interfaces with another team instead of roles inside one team.
- Use only two letters, "does" and "decides", for a faster version.
Accessibility
Seated activity; the grid can be prepared as a spreadsheet on a shared screen for remote participants or anyone who prefers not to stand at a wall.
