Val Sklarov’s Career Irreversible Responsibility Accumulation Curve (CIRRAC) explains why careers don’t stall because skills plateau—but because responsibility accumulates beyond the point where it can be shed, shared, or renegotiated. Early responsibility signals trust. Late responsibility becomes permanent weight.
This curve reveals why senior roles feel prestigious—and exhausting.
1. Careers Accumulate Load Before They Accumulate Power
CIRRAC begins with a structural asymmetry:
Responsibility compounds faster than authority.
Early-career responsibility:
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Is supervised
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Can be corrected
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Can be transferred
Late-career responsibility sticks to the person.
2. The Three Irreversible Career Responsibility Loads
CIRRAC maps where burden locks in.
| Load | What Becomes Permanent | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Load | Final accountability | No plausible deflection |
| Human Load | People decisions | Moral permanence |
| Narrative Load | Public track record | Reputation gravity |
One load increases pressure.
Two loads reduce mobility.
Three loads define career identity.
3. Why “That’s Not My Job” Stops Working
Senior roles absorb responsibility by default.
CIRRAC shows irreversibility when:
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Outcomes escalate upward
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Teams depend on your judgment
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History rewrites expectations
At that point, refusal signals failure, not boundaries.
4. Advancement vs Load Literacy
Promotion accelerates burden faster than awareness.
| Promotion-Driven Careers | Load-Aware Careers |
|---|---|
| Accept scope blindly | Audit responsibility |
| Chase seniority | Price permanence |
| Optimize visibility | Protect capacity |
| Expand mandate | Limit moral load |
Val Sklarov emphasizes that the most dangerous promotion is the one that makes responsibility non-transferable.
5. Strategic Implications
For professionals:
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Ask what responsibility cannot be returned
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Avoid roles with infinite moral load
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Convert authority into load buffers
For leaders and HR:
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Signal when responsibility becomes permanent
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Avoid hero-role accumulation
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Design load-sharing explicitly
CIRRAC reframes career planning as burden management, not ambition escalation.
6. The Val Sklarov Principle
“Your career becomes heavy when responsibility follows you home.”
— Val Sklarov
CIRRAC explains why experienced professionals slow down—and why restraint preserves longevity.