13. Steps in Role Clarification

You can use a role clarification process to clarify roles when working with any team. Role clarification can also be useful when working through the steps in person-centered decision making. Here is how it is done (27):

  1. Each person describes briefly what they would like to do within the team. This includes describing your own preferred duties and responsibilities. Make statements like “I would like to take the baby’s vitals and be responsible for determining and initiating resuscitation if it is needed.”

  2. Other team members then make requests for each person’s contribution to the team. This is accomplished by using statements like, “do more of...”, “do less of…” and “keep on…”. An example of this would be: “When you are taking the baby’s vitals, can you please say your findings out loud when you do the checks so that we can all hear you?”

  3. Feedback, validation, and negotiation are used to establish and define the team’s division of roles. When clarifying your role and your willingness to change based on other members’ role request, there are three options: yes, no, or negotiate. Say yes if you are willing and able to make the requested change. Say no if you can articulate that the change will not help the team meet its overall goals. Negotiate by saying “I will be able to do… if you do….”. Negotiation is done to ask team members for the help you need to make the change they requested.

  4. Document what role each person agreed upon.