Which is true about a meeting's action items?

• A. The person who facilitates the meeting is responsible for action items
• B. The attendees who were assigned are responsible
• C. The action items have no owner
• D. The meeting minutes are the sole source of action items

Answer: (A)

Capturing accountability during a meeting hinges on turning discussion into concrete tasks with clear owners and deadlines. The person who leads the meeting plays the central role here: they capture each action item, assign who will handle it, and set a due date, so there’s a definite owner and a path for follow-up. This ensures nothing slips through the cracks and that progress can be tracked after the meeting. Attendees who are assigned tasks are the ones who will do the work, but it’s the facilitator who ensures those tasks exist, are assigned, and that there’s a system to review status. Action items without owners are vague and hard to close. Meeting minutes are a record, but they shouldn’t be the only source of action items or the only place you track progress; follow-up needs a tracker or mechanism to monitor completion. So the best practice is to have the meeting leader responsible for recording and assigning action items, ensuring clear ownership and accountability.