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Role clarity + decision rights reset for faster execution
Cross-functional leadership • Operations • 3 weeks
Improved execution speed by clarifying ownership, interfaces, and decision boundaries.
Snapshot
Services
- Operating Model
Deliverables
- Decision rights map (key decisions + owners)
- Role interface map (handoffs + boundaries)
- Escalation path and decision categories
- Operating agreements (conflict reduction)
- 30-day adoption plan
Context
- Engagement: 3-week decision-rights and ownership reset
- Timeline: 3 weeks
- Client: Cross-functional leadership
- Industry: Operations
- High coordination cost across functions with unclear handoffs
- Decisions escalated by default due to ambiguous ownership
- Needed clarity that reduced meetings while preserving accountability
Constraints
- Decision rights had to be specific enough to end circular debates
- Escalation paths needed to be predictable, not personality-driven
- Changes had to be adoptable within 30 days, not a long transformation
Challenge
Work stalled because ownership was unclear: decisions escalated unnecessarily, meetings multiplied, and accountability diffused across functions.
How we worked
- Mapped recurring decisions and assigned accountable owners
- Clarified role interfaces and handoffs to reduce friction
- Separated one-way vs two-way decisions to right-size escalation
- Introduced operating agreements for the most common conflict patterns
What we did
- Mapped key decisions and assigned accountable owners
- Clarified role interfaces and handoffs across functions
- Defined escalation path and “one-way/two-way door” decisions
- Introduced lightweight operating agreements for recurring conflicts
Outcomes
- Escalations: ↓ ~35% within 60 days
- Recurring coordination meetings: ↓ ~20% (time reclaimed)
- Decision clarity: Improved (explicit owners)
Proof
- Decision rights map (high-level) with decision categories
- Role interface map (high-level) showing boundaries and handoffs
- Escalation path and decision taxonomy (one-way/two-way door)
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