Tips for Results: The Power of Crystal-Clear Expectations

How Roles, Accountabilities & Responsibilities Transform Performance

A previous article talked about conducting Fit Checks to ensure you have the right people on your team.

Now we tackle the next critical question:

"How do I make sure my people know exactly what success looks like in their role?"

After 30+ years of working with teams, I've discovered something that might surprise you:

Many performance problems aren't actually performance problems.

They're clarity problems.

People usually want to do well. They want to contribute. They want to succeed. But if they're not clear on what "success" means in their specific role, they'll spend their energy on the wrong things, miss important priorities, and leave you wondering why they're not performing better.

Most jobs come with a title and some kind of a job description. That’s usually a good start, but it isn’t uncommon for an employee to still have questions about the specifics of the job and how they can succeed in that role.

The solution isn't lengthy policies or micromanagement.

It's crystal-clear Roles, Accountabilities, and Responsibilities (RARs).

Why Most Job Descriptions Fail

Traditional job descriptions are often mildly useful documents that check a box for hiring requirements, but don't really do much to help a new employee succeed.

They're filled with generic language like:

• "performs other duties as assigned"
• “can hit the ground running”
• “able to wear many hats”
• “willing to go above and beyond”

Job descriptions often focus more on qualifications than on the results that a person in the role should generate in order to be considered successful at that role.

RARs are different. They're living documents that clearly define:

• What this person is supposed to accomplish (Role)
• The key results they own (Accountabilities)
• How they'll achieve those results (Responsibilities)

When someone has clear RARs, they can make better decisions, prioritize effectively, and take ownership of outcomes that matter.

Understanding the Three Components

1) The Role: Your Big Picture Purpose

The Role defines why this position exists and how it connects to the company's success. It answers the question: "What is this person here to accomplish?"

A good Role statement:

• Connects to company goals and vision
• Explains the position's core purpose in 2-3 sentences
• Gives context for why this work matters
• Helps the person understand their contribution to the bigger picture

Example Role (Sales Manager): "Lead and develop our sales team to consistently achieve revenue targets while building strong customer relationships that drive long-term business growth. Serve as the bridge between company strategy and front-line execution, ensuring our sales approach aligns with our values and delivers exceptional customer experiences."

A good Role statement can be summarized in a simple list of core elements. For example, the above Sales Manager role could be summarized very simply as:

• Drive long-term Business Growth
• Define & Implement our Sales Approach
• Lead & Develop our Sales team
• Build strong Customer relationships

2) Accountabilities: The Outcomes You Own

Accountabilities are the 3-5 key results this person is responsible for delivering.

These are the outcomes that, if achieved consistently, will make this role successful.

Good Accountabilities are:

• Measurable via goals and KPIs (search on SMART goals to learn more on this)
• Outcome-focused, not activity-focused
• Owned by this person, not shared with others
• Connected to the company's most important goals
• Clear about what success looks like
  
  

Here's some example Accountabilities for the Sales Manager role above:

• Achieve monthly and quarterly revenue targets for the sales team
• Develop and coach sales team members to improve individual performance
• Maintain a healthy sales pipeline with predictable conversion rates
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers
• Provide accurate sales forecasting and market intelligence

Each of these should be discussed with the employee and broken down further into specific goals and KPIs that will be tracked and reviewed regularly with the employee.

3) Responsibilities: The Activities You’ll Do and Lead

Responsibilities are the key activities, tasks, and behaviors that support the Accountabilities.

They can be thought of as “the How actions that will lead to the What outcomes”.

Good Responsibilities:

• Support the Accountabilities directly
• Focus on high-impact activities, not busy work
• Provide enough detail for clarity without micromanaging
• Allow flexibility in how things get done
• Can evolve as the role or business changes
  
  

Here's some example Responsibilities for the Sales Manager role above:

• Lead regular sales team meetings and training sessions
• Conduct weekly one-on-ones with each sales team member
• Review and approve sales proposals and pricing decisions
• Participate in quarterly business planning and forecasting
• Develop and maintain relationships with strategic accounts
• Monitor sales metrics and provide regular performance reports

The specifics of Responsibilities will often change and evolve as the business changes, but the high level elements in the Role will usually stay the same. For example, the Sales Manager will always need to Drive Growth, Lead the Sales Team, and Build strong Customer Relationships, no matter how the business changes.

The Magic of Written Clarity

Don't let RARs just live in your head or in verbal conversations. 

Write them down. Share them. Review them regularly.

A clear RARs document becomes a powerful tool for:

• Performance discussions: Clear expectations make performance conversations objective
• Goal setting: Accountabilities provide natural targets for individual and team goals
• Decision-making: When people understand their role, they make better daily decisions
• Development planning: Clear gaps between current performance and accountabilities guide training needs
• Hiring: RARs help you find the right people and set them up for success from day one

Creating RARs That Work

Here's how to develop effective RARs for your team:

Step 1: Start with the Business Need

Before writing anything, be clear about what you need this role to accomplish for your business. What problems does it solve? What opportunities does it create? How does it support your company's goals?

Step 2: Make It Collaborative

Don't write RARs in isolation. Have conversations with the person in the role (if it's an existing position) or with others who understand the work. The best RARs come from dialogue, not dictation.

Step 3: Focus on Outcomes

Resist the temptation to list every possible task. Instead, focus on the outcomes that matter most. What results will make this role genuinely successful?

Step 4: Be Specific About Success

Vague Accountabilities lead to vague performance. Instead of "improve customer satisfaction," try "maintain customer satisfaction scores above 8.5/10 and resolve customer issues within 24 hours." Use AI here to help you come up with SMART goals for the Accountabilities.

Step 5: Keep It Current

RARs should evolve as your business grows and changes. Review them at least annually, and update them when roles significantly change.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• The Laundry List: Don't try to capture every possible task someone might do. Focus on what matters most.
• The Activity Trap: Don't confuse being busy with being effective. Focus on results, not just activities.
• The Perfection Problem: Don't wait for perfect RARs before sharing them. Start with good enough and improve over time.
• The Set-and-Forget Mistake: Don't create RARs and then never reference them again. Use them in regular conversations about performance and priorities. Use them in KPIs.

Making It Stick

The key to successful RARs isn't just creating them. You've got to use them consistently:

• Reference them in KPIs to track progress
• Discuss them often in one on ones to keep priorities clear
• Use them for quarterly reviews to assess performance objectively
• Update them when roles evolve to maintain relevance
• Share them with new hires to accelerate their success
• Connect them to company goals so people see the bigger picture

The Results

When you implement clear RARs across your team, you'll notice several changes:

• Decision-making improves
• Accountability increases
• Performance conversations get easier
• Stress decreases
• Results improve

Your Next Step

Pick one role on your team that would benefit most from clearer expectations. Set aside some time this week to draft RARs for that position. If someone is currently in the role, involve them in the conversation.

Don't aim for perfection. Aim for clarity that's better than what you have today.

Remember: Your people want to succeed. Your job is to make it crystal clear what success looks like.

Our Foundations workshop has an entire section on RARs, and we have tools and templates to help you with this process.

I'd be glad to help you think through how to create expectations that drive results.

Ready to build clarity across your team? Let's talk.