Our leadership team is completely bogged down trying to agree on the exact wording of the five roles under each seat on our Accountability Chart. Our weekly meetings are starting to feel like English class. How do we simplify this process and get unstuck?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You are overcomplicating a simple exercise. The Accountability Chart is a functional tool designed to create absolute clarity, not a corporate marketing brochure. If your leadership team is debating adjectives and commas, you have lost sight of the goal. The five roles under each seat should be simple, high-level, action-oriented phrases that define the core outcomes that seat is responsible for. They are not detailed job descriptions. To get unstuck, apply a strict time limit to your discussions. Use the IDS tool to resolve any major disagreements. If you cannot agree on a role, ask yourself: what is the single, measurable result this seat must deliver for our business to succeed? Use active verbs like design, execute, manage, or deliver. For example, instead of writing "Collaboratively assist the sales team in identifying potential high-value client opportunities," simply write "Generate qualified leads." Keep it raw and direct. If a role requires a paragraph to explain, it is too complex. Strip away the corporate jargon. Once you have five simple bullet points that capture eighty percent of the seat's impact, lock it in and move on. You can always refine it during your quarterly sessions.