Who’s on first? That was the famous punchline of the comedy duo Abbot & Costello which played on the frustrations and confusion of vague communication. When it comes to teamwork we can often find ourselves confused as to ‘who’s on first’.

You’ve all received this in your inbox, an email which ‘cc’s‘ several people in your organization asking for a particular task to be completed. It could be from a customer, your boss or a coworker. It probably reads something like this…‘hey, I need this done by Friday. Let me know when it’s done. Thanks, everyone’. Everyone? Who is everyone, and who will be ultimately responsible for making sure this assignment is completed?

The temptation in group communication is to absolve yourself of responsibility being convinced that someone else will do it…but will they? Much like a fly ball landing between the center and left field, shared responsibility can lead to shared failure. How can you avoid such confusion in the workplace?

1. Set a new standard. Reach an agreement that any email requesting that a task is completed include (1) a description of the job, (2) the specific person responsible for completing the task, and (3) a clear…