What Is a Trusted Servant?

Back to Getting Started with AA

Tradition Two in practice

Trusted to act. Responsible to return. Never appointed to govern.

A group or service body entrusts a member with defined work and enough working authority to carry it. The title names a responsibility; it does not create rank over A.A. members.

Responsibility moves outward

Assignment, scope, and appropriate discretion

Accountability returns

Consultation, progress, results, and questions

“Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”

Alcoholics Anonymous, Tradition Two

Working within trust

The assignment has a center, an edge, and a return

This is an orientation for understanding delegated service, not a required procedure for every group or service body.
Within the assignment

Use judgment inside the responsibility

Carry the agreed work and make the ordinary decisions needed to move it forward.

At the edge

Consult when scope or authority is unclear

Questions that exceed the assignment return to the group or service body for direction.

Back to those served

Report what happened and what remains

Progress, results, problems, and unanswered questions keep responsibility connected to those served.

Keep the terms separate

Three things that are not the same

Position
The defined work, its scope, and its relationship to the group or service body.
Trusted servant
The member who accepts responsibility and remains accountable while carrying it.
Those served
The group or service body that provides direction, receives reports, and remains responsible for its affairs.

The boundary in plain language

“They do not govern” changes how authority is used

A title is not rank.It does not place one member over another.

Delegation is not a private mandate.The work remains connected to the direction of those served.

Judgment is not freedom from accountability.Appropriate discretion and honest report-back belong together.

Related explanations

Follow the responsibility around the group

Each row opens one directly related Getting Started guide.

Continue through the site

Sections connected to trusted service

These are the established circular controls assigned to this subject.
AA Groups and AdministrationContinue to local group, service, and administration information.Open section → AA Program and Core PrinciplesRead about the Traditions, Concepts, and principles behind A.A. service.Open section → AA Membership and SponsorshipContinue to membership, sponsorship, service, and participation guidance.Open section →

Official wording and context

Read the principle in A.A.’s own material

Each complete row opens one official source in a new tab.
Official A.A. principlesThe Twelve TraditionsTradition Two states the relationship among group conscience, trusted service, and leadership without government. Read the Traditions ↗ The A.A. Service Manual cover Official A.A. service referenceThe A.A. Service Manual / Twelve Concepts for World Service (PDF)Detailed context for responsibility, authority, accountability, consultation, and the general service structure. Open official PDF ↗ The A.A. Group publication artwork Conference-approved publicationThe A.A. Group…Where It All Begins (PDF)Guidance about group responsibility, common service positions, group conscience, and trusted service. Open official PDF ↗

Source record: Tradition Two, The A.A. Service Manual, and The A.A. Group reviewed August 13, 2026. The working-boundary explanation is an orientation; groups and service bodies define their own responsibilities and practices.