Capacity and staffing
How to resolve role conflicts in an event team
Two people on your team are each sure the task is theirs, or each sure it is the other's, and the date is not moving.
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The short answer
Most role conflicts are really unclear decision rights. Settle them by naming one person who decides, listing who must be consulted and who only needs to be told, then recording the answer where the whole team can see it.
Do this early and in writing. A conflict settled in a corridor tends to return the week before the event.
Separate the people from the decision
Write the contested item as a single decision, for example who approves the speaker transport plan. State what is at stake and by when it must be settled.
Talking about the decision rather than the people keeps the conversation practical and lets a third person, such as the committee chair, settle it without taking sides.
The decision sequence
- Write the disputed task in one line and the date it must be settled by.
- Ask each person to describe, in their own words, what they believe they are responsible for here. Differences usually appear in the first two answers.
- Check the role descriptions and the original brief. If they are silent, treat that as the cause, not blame.
- Choose one decider using a simple test: who is best placed to know the facts, and who answers for the outcome?
- Name who is consulted before the decision and who is informed after it. Keep the consulted list short.
- State the limits of the decider's authority, for example spend up to an agreed amount or no change to the programme.
- Record it in a decision log, share it with the team and set a date to check it is working.
Decision rights at a glance
| Role in the decision | What it means | Typical mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Decides | Makes the final call and answers for it. | Two deciders named, so each waits for the other. |
| Consulted | Gives input before the decision. Can raise a concern, does not hold a veto unless stated. | Everyone is consulted, so the decision takes weeks. |
| Informed | Told after the decision so their own work lines up. | Left out, then surprised on the day. |
| Escalation owner | Settles a deadlock the decider cannot, for example the chair. | No escalation owner is named, so disputes drift. |
When the conflict is about workload, not rights
Sometimes two people disagree about who owns a task because both are overloaded and each is protecting themselves. Treat that as a capacity question and look at the workload estimate and the capacity gap estimator.
If someone is struggling to cope, that conversation belongs with their line manager, not in the project meeting.
Common pitfalls
- Splitting a task in half instead of naming an owner, so two half-owners result.
- Resolving the conflict verbally and not writing it down.
- Giving the decider no stated limits, so others second-guess them.
- Leaving out suppliers and volunteers who work to whoever spoke last.
- Using a senior person's preference as the answer without noting who now owns the follow-up.
Worked example · Fictional example
Who owns the sponsor signage layout?
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
At a fictional professional association's annual forum, the marketing officer and the programme coordinator each believe they own the signage layout, and the printer needs final files in ten days. The marketing officer is working to the brand rules; the coordinator is working to the floor plan.
The project lead writes it as one decision: who approves the final signage layout. The marketing officer decides, the coordinator and the venue liaison are consulted on placement, and the secretary is informed. The decider may approve changes within the printed quantities already quoted and must ask the committee treasurer for anything beyond them. The record is added to the decision log and checked at the next weekly meeting.
Use this yourself
Role conflict decision record
Copy this for each contested item and complete it with the people involved. Keep it to one page.
- Decision in one line:
- Why it is contested (what each person believed):
- Must be settled by (date):
- Decider (one person):
- Consulted before the decision:
- Informed after the decision:
- Limits of the decider's authority (spend, scope, time):
- Escalation owner if deadlocked:
- What happens next and who does it (action, owner, date):
- Date this will be checked:
- Where this record is kept and who can see it:
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- The conflict is about one task and everyone is willing to talk.
- The brief or role descriptions can be corrected quickly and shared.
- A neutral person, such as the chair or secretary, is available to decide.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Several people from different departments or committees each report to different seniors.
- The conflict keeps returning, which suggests the structure or reporting lines are unclear.
- Time is short and nobody in the team is neutral enough to settle it.
Need a neutral coordinator to settle decision rights?
A conference project lead can facilitate the decision-rights conversation, write the record, update the role descriptions and keep the decision log current for the agreed scope. The organiser keeps the authority to decide who owns what; the project lead keeps the process moving and visible.
Questions organisers ask
What if both people are senior and neither will give way?
Name an escalation owner before the dispute starts, such as the committee chair or the event owner. If none exists, ask the person who approved the event to settle it in writing.
Is a RACI chart the same thing?
It is a similar idea with four roles. A short decider, consulted and informed list for the specific contested decision is often easier to keep than a full chart for the whole event.
Should the decision go in the project plan or a separate log?
A separate decision log is easier to find and to check. Link to it from the plan, so the roles and the reasons stay together.
What if a volunteer is caught between two instructions?
Give the volunteer one person to take instructions from on the day. Tell the others and record the arrangement, so the volunteer is not asked to choose.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.