A is for Accountable
The One with Ultimate Responsibility
I believe it was Uncle Ben who once told Spider-Man, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
🕸️Spider-Man was an A.
Yesterday, we talked about the R - the person (or team) who does the work. They’re hands-on. Task-focused. The do-ers.
Today, we meet the A in RACI — the person who’s ultimately answerable.
They might not be involved in the day-to-day, but they own the outcome.
They:
Make the decisions
Approve the work
Take responsibility if things go wrong
You know that moment when a police chief gets wheeled out on the news to update the public?
They’re not on the ground doing the investigation - but they’re the one taking the questions (and facing the music). That’s the A.
Can you have more than one A?
In theory? Maybe. In practice? It’s a recipe for confusion.
If everyone’s accountable, then no one really is.
It’s the same principle we covered in our post about why tasks can only have one owner and why Rs should also have one owner.
One task = one A.
There are of course exceptions - but try to keep this principle in mind. That’s how you keep things moving, clear, and drama-free.
Not Every Task Needs an A
Some tasks and processes on your list need a clearly defined Accountable party
Let’s reuse our example from yesterday.
Your Finance Team is responsible for preparing the annual tax return. They gather the data, crunch the numbers, and file the documents.
But the person accountable for that return being accurate, compliant, and submitted on time?
That’s the CFO.
They are the one who carries the can if it’s late, wrong or incomplete.
Tomorrow, we’ll meet the folks who aren’t doing the work or making the decisions - but they still get a say. (And yes, finally, you can have lots of them.)