Better requires an owner, not a committee
Shared accountability is usually a polite way of saying no one is accountable. Naming an owner is the cheapest improvement available.
By Corey Mack · Columnist, What Better Requires
Published July 17, 2026
5 min read
Key takeaways
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We talk constantly about making things better. But what does better actually require? In practice, it usually requires something specific and uncomfortable: a decision someone has been avoiding, a system nobody owns, or a standard that was never written down.
This essay looks at ownership — not as a slogan, but as a set of obligations. Better requires clarity about who decides. It requires measurement that survives contact with the people being measured. And it requires leaders willing to say what they will stop doing.
Most organizations do not fail at ambition. They fail at sequencing. The work that would actually move the outcome sits behind three other things that felt more urgent, and the urgent work never ends.
The practical test is simple: name the constraint, name the owner, name the date. If any of the three is missing, the improvement is still an intention.
Who this affects
- Executives
- Team leads
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Citations
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- ReferencePrimary — federal payer policyMedicaid.gov
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services · Federal Medicaid policy, state plan information, and program guidance.
- ReferencePrimary — certification bodyBehavior Analyst Certification Board
BACB · Certification requirements, ethics codes, and supervision standards for BCBAs and RBTs.
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Correction history
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