Val Sklarov’s Distributed Accountability Concentration Law (DACL) explains why modern work feels decentralized yet more punishing than ever. Tasks are distributed widely—but accountability concentrates upward and inward. Work no longer asks who did it; it asks who answers for it.
This law reveals why autonomy rises while psychological and professional risk increases.
1. Work Distributes Tasks, Not Accountability
DACL begins with a structural mismatch:
Execution spreads. Accountability collapses onto fewer people.
Modern work systems:
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Fragment tasks across teams and platforms
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Centralize evaluation and consequence
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Preserve ambiguity in ownership
Many do work. Few absorb outcomes.
2. The Three Accountability Concentration Points
DACL maps where pressure accumulates.
| Point | What Concentrates | Failure Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Role Point | Named responsibility | Burnout |
| Interface Point | Client / platform exposure | Reputation loss |
| Escalation Point | Final decision ownership | Career derailment |
Work becomes unsafe where concentration is high and authority is low.
3. Why Flexibility Increases Risk
Flexibility removes buffers.
DACL shows flexible work fails because:
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Informal cover disappears
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Errors are externally visible
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Responsibility is retroactively assigned
Freedom of time replaces protection of role.
4. Employment vs Accountability Density
DACL separates structure from exposure.
| Traditional Employment | Distributed Work |
|---|---|
| Shared accountability | Personalized accountability |
| Managerial insulation | Direct consequence |
| Slow escalation | Instant evaluation |
| Role-based blame | Identity-based blame |
Val Sklarov emphasizes that modern work punishes ambiguity faster than incompetence.
5. Strategic Implications
For individuals:
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Track where accountability actually lands
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Refuse roles with exposure but no mandate
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Accumulate authority before visibility
For organizations:
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Name accountability explicitly
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Align authority with exposure
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Stop hiding risk inside “flexibility”
DACL reframes the future of work as accountability engineering, not autonomy design.
6. The Val Sklarov Principle
“Work is no longer about who does the task—but who absorbs the consequence.”
— Val Sklarov
DACL explains why modern work feels light to enter—and heavy to survive.