Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth

Or, why everyone needs to know their role…

There is an old saying dating back to the 16th century that “too many cooks spoil the broth.” If you do a search on this phrase, most of the examples you’ll find relate to projects or business in general. Wonder why that is? I don’t.

If you have ever worked on a project where multiple people are giving orders, you understand the meaning behind the phrase. Everyone on a project needs to know where the boundaries of their function begins and ends. If not, even with the best intentions from everyone involved, a lack of clarity can cuase unnecessary issues, frustrations, and confusion.

Here is a little hierarchy that builds upon itself to help better define one’s role.

Clarity of Role

This one can be as simple as the title of the position the person is filling. Examples include project manager, business analyst, developer, scrum master, tester. The problem is when you have similar sounding roles — such as program manager, project manager, advisor, business consultant, product owner — all on the same effort. The role title isn’t enough to obtain complete clarity.

Clarity of Purpose

Next is getting clarity on what the role is supposed to achieve. What is it’s purpose? At the end of the day, what is it that your are supposed to do? A business analyst may have the summarized purpose of “translating business requirements into technical specifications” for example.

Clarity of Responsibility

Clarity of responsibility builds on the purpose. Defining the responsibilities of a given role gets down into the weeds of spelling out the work products that are produced by carrying out the role’s purpose. A project manager may have the responsibility to produce a weekly status report, risk register, to maintain a project schedule, etc. Clear responsibilities help team members know who is accountable for what.

Clarity of Authority

Defining the lines of authority makes it clear who can decide what. Clarity of authority makes it understood what decisions are made by which roles. This one isn’t easy because for it to work well there has to be a healthy level of trust between everyone involved. Being upfront with expectations of authority can help establish trust, while forging forward with assumed authority can deeply erode trust and create animosity or outright hostility.

The path to a happy project team starts with everyone having an understanding and appreciation for what each team member contributes to the effort. Clearly defining what each person is there to achieve, what deliverables they will contribute to or produce, and what decision points are theirs to make is time well spent upfront to avoid complications further down the line.

Conversely, there is another saying that “many hands make light work.” This is absolutely true — as long as they all know their role!

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