DIAGNOSTIC

The Explicitness Test

Most organizations assume alignment exists because no one has objected. This test surfaces what has actually been made explicit versus what remains assumed.

What it measures

Stated vs. assumed ownership

Who owns what? Not who should. Who does, right now, with evidence?

Recorded vs. verbal decisions

Which decisions exist in a system? Which ones only exist in someone's memory or a chat thread?

Visible vs. hidden structure

Is the organizational structure something people can see and reference, or is it implied from behavior?

Decision Drift Diagnostic
The Explicitness Test
A quiet diagnostic for leaders who carry consequences
Answer based on what is true right now, not what you are building toward. "Unsure" is the most honest signal in the test.
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Ownership and Authority
I can name who owns readiness, not delivery, for our next major launch or commitment.
Not who is doing the work. Who is responsible for whether the thing is actually ready before it goes live?
Ownership of readiness is documented and understood beyond a single individual.
If you asked three people on the team who owns readiness, would they give the same name?
The person responsible for readiness has the authority to delay, rescope, or stop the launch if criteria are not met.
Could they actually say "we are not ready" and have it hold?
Explicit Commitments
The criteria for "ready" are written down in plain language.
Not in a project plan buried in a folder. Written where the people doing the work can find and reference it.
Those criteria were agreed to before execution began.
Were the success conditions defined before the work started?
Decision-makers signed off on these criteria explicitly, not implicitly.
Did someone actually say "yes, these are the criteria" out loud?
Decision Integrity
When risk is raised, it reliably returns to the person who can change scope, timing, or investment.
Think about the last time someone flagged a problem. Did it reach the person who could actually do something about it?
Tradeoffs are named as decisions, not absorbed quietly by teams.
When scope gets cut or timelines shift, is that stated as a decision someone made?
We can trace major outcomes back to conscious choices, not momentum.
Pick a recent result, good or bad. Can you point to the moment someone consciously chose it?
Governance vs. Heroics
Success does not depend on someone "stepping up," staying late, or absorbing friction.
Think about the last win. Could it have happened the same way if the person behind it had called in sick that week?
If a key individual disappeared for 30 days, execution would still hold.
Pick anyone on the team. If they were unavailable for a month, could execution continue without them?
Stability is produced by structure, not stamina.
Would things still run smoothly if the current team was replaced with equally competent people who had no tribal knowledge?
Signal and Truth
Status is reported by commitment or outcome.
When someone gives an update, does it track against what was promised and what actually happened?
Difficult truths reach decision-makers as quickly as progress updates.
When something is behind or broken, does leadership hear about it in the same cycle as the wins?
There is a defined place where uncomfortable truth can be named without escalation theater.
Can someone say "this is not working" without it becoming a political event?
Drift Detection
We notice misalignment before it shows up in customers, regulators, or the board.
Think about the last surprise. Did anyone inside the organization see it coming before it became external?
Early signals are validated, not minimized.
When someone raises a concern early, does it get investigated before it becomes urgent?
Silence is not confused with alignment.
Does your team have a way to distinguish between "no one objected" and "everyone actually agrees"?
Consequence Awareness
Everyone involved understands what happens if commitments are missed.
Do the people doing the work know the real consequences of missing the deadline?
The cost of delay, failure, or partial readiness is explicit.
Has anyone stated what it actually costs, in money, trust, or time, if this thing ships late or incomplete?
Responsibility for consequences is clear before the outcomes land.
Before the result arrives, does everyone know who is accountable for what happens next?
Your Results
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Yes
0
No
0
Unsure
Clarity does not force action. It returns agency. Once something is explicit, someone chooses to own it. Or the system accepts the consequence. What is not legitimate is pretending the choice does not exist.

21 questions. Five minutes. Your eyes only.

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