Limit Consulted to people whose input genuinely changes the decision
Every C is a two-way conversation that costs time; over-consulting is as dangerous as under-consulting.
Why it works
Every person listed as Consulted must be contacted before the decision is made and must have a real opportunity to influence it — otherwise the C is a courtesy label, not a real role. When too many people are Consulted, decision speed collapses and consultees stop engaging because their input rarely matters. Limiting C to genuine decision-influencers protects both the decision quality and stakeholder trust.
How to do it
- For each C, ask: "If we didn’t consult this person, would the decision be worse? Could they veto it for a reason we’d care about?"
- If the answer is no, demote them to I (Informed). If the answer is yes, keep them as C and actually contact them.
- Cap C to two or three people per decision; larger groups should be handled with structured input methods, not open-ended consultation.
Evidence
Decision research consistently shows that consulting more people increases decision time and can decrease decision quality through social conformity and information overload. Structured limitation of consultation is a direct application of this. Asch’s conformity studies show individuals will abandon a correct judgment under group pressure, and the information-overload literature shows decision quality degrades past a threshold of input — the two named mechanisms this practice guards against. (mechanistic)
The optimal number of consultees varies by decision type and stakes; the "cap at two or three" is a practical heuristic, not a research-derived threshold.
Sources
- Eppler, M. J., & Mengis, J. (2004). The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS, and related disciplines. The Information Society, 20(5), 325–344.
- Asch, S. E. (1956). Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 70(9), 1–70.
Common mistake
Adding people to C to avoid hurt feelings rather than because their input improves the decision — which creates a long, slow consultation process where most input is ignored anyway.
Practice this with IX Coach
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More practices for The RACI Matrix, Made Practical
- Assign exactly one Accountable per decision
Every decision or deliverable must have exactly one A — not zero, not two.
- Separate the doer (R) from the owner (A)
The person who does the work is often not the person who owns the outcome — make this explicit.
- Inform stakeholders before they ask, not after they complain
I’s are one-way — they receive information; the cost of surprising them is always higher than the cost of telling them.
- Review the RACI when scope or team changes
A RACI built at kickoff and never updated is out of date the moment the first change happens.
- Pair the RACI with a decision log
Knowing who decides is only half the system — recording what was decided closes the accountability loop.
Related concepts
- Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development
Why every team hits turbulence — and what to do at each stage
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Made Practical
The seven habits, their real mechanisms, and an honest read on the evidence
- OKRs for People, Not Just Companies
Objectives, Key Results, cadence — the mechanism behind each move