Is your org structure stunting your growth?

well,it may take a little coaching
on transformational change
leadership.
IS YOUR ORG
STRUCTURE STUNTING
YOUR GROWTH?
TEN SIGNS Y OUR ORG STR UCT URE IS AN ISS UE…
AND WHAT Y OU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
*VUCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous
Upscaling the organization for the VUCA* world.

© 2017 PeopleFirm LLC All Rights Reserved
Are you
trying to
drive growth
through one
(or more) of
these?
INNOVATION
GREAT CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
SPEED AND AGILITY
EFFICIENCY

But you keep
getting
tripped up
by one (or
more) of
these 10
issues?
1. You’re slow to make decisions
2. External and internal customers say
you’re difficult to work with
3. Your employees feel overloaded
4. Your innovation isn’t keeping up with
the competition
5. Top talent is leaving, citing a lack of
progression and growth
6. Your team is distracted by a cycle of
restructuring (swinging from centralized
to de-centralized)
7. Your peers say your internal services are
too expensive
8. You’re finding redundant work, or work
that simply isn’t getting done
9. You’re experiencing poor decisions due
to weak or no information
10. Your employees are telling you they
can’t do their best work

These may be
symptoms that
your org structure
is seriously stunting
your growth.

How can we improve
our org structure,
you ask?
Each organization
is different. But let’s
talk about some
best practices.
Let’s look at the
TOP 6 STRUCTURE TIPS
to remember.

Organizational structure isn’t just about reporting lines or box-and-wire org charts. If you’re still
looking at your structure in that way, you’re probably going to miss a whole world of opportunity.
Instead, think of structure as the way that
information travels through your
organization, how power is balanced,
and how decisions are made. In
other words, it’s how you
process information, make
decisions, provide role clarity,
resolve disputes, and generally get
get work done.
1.Understand what
structure really is.
Tip: Any structure will have weak and strong points. The key is
to understand what those areas are, so you can play to your
org’s strengths and mitigate its weaknesses.

2.Get clear on your
outcomes.
If you’ve been following us, it shouldn’t surprise
you that we’re bringing up your corporate
strategy. As with everything else, your structure
needs to enable your strategy.
But once you’re clear on where you need to go,
take a moment to understand what
problem(s) you’re solving. What issues does
your structure need to solve?
Think back to our list of symptoms. Make sure
that the structure you put in place will
support your growth enablers, not get in the
way.
Tip: Avoid designing around a weak person, especially a weak leader.
Sometimes you have to make tough choices. The perfect design won’t
work if you don’t have the right people in the right roles.

3.Remember how the work
gets done.
Time and again we see org structures that were
designed without very much thought into the
relationships, collaboration patterns, processes,
and tools that drive innovation and efficiency in the
organization.
Think about the work patterns you want to
support. Run water through the pipes. Examine
workflows. Think through what you’ll need to do to
connect the silos. And think about the up- and
down-stream effects of your actions.
Make sure you’ve built in processes to enable
efficient collaboration, decision-making, and
work hand-offs.
Tip: Make sure you understand the handoffs and communications
between silos (and don’t fool yourself, all structures have silos).
Those intersections are where things can get messy.

4.Reflect your desired
culture.
The connection may not seem obvious at first,
but your org structure has to support the
culture you have, as well as the culture you
want. No good will come from a structure at war
with your culture, no matter how great they both
are individually. In fact, think of your structure
as the perfect way to reinforce the behavior
you want.
Let’s say your culture celebrates innovation and
getting things out the door quickly. The last
thing you want is 15 layers of managers between
your front line and your ultimate decision maker.
If, on the other hand, your culture is rigidly
hierarchical, don’t build that same flat structure
without doing some serious work to change
your culture first.
Tip: Remember that you will have to make tradeoffs. You
can’t focus on everything. Prioritize the areas that will
support your most important cultural initiatives.
What do they mean, I
just do it? Don’t I have
to get permission from
somebody first??

5.Make it great for your
people.
OK, this may blow your mind a little. Most org
structures are (usually inadvertently) designed to
make work easier for the managers. But a
structure should make it easier for the people
doing the real work to thrive and succeed at
their jobs.
Don’t design in a vacuum. Think about how you
can enable the work and the behaviors you
want to drive. And put in place progression
and growth opportunities to keep your
people fulfilled and engaged.
Need an example? A company has decision controls so that managers are
able to control their budgets (good for the manager). But shifting those
decisions to the employee would actually allow employees to help
the customer better (good for the work AND the employee).

6.Bring“them”with you
Finally, don’t create your structure in a vacuum.
If you design everything behind the executive
curtain, it won’t matter how brilliant your solution
is—when you need your people to understand the
new design, they won’t be with you.
Instead, manage to the outcome you want. This
means engaging your team and your
stakeholders in the design from early in the
process. Get their feedback, and listen to their
needs.
Tapping into the wisdom of your employees will
not only ensure your employees are on board, but
will also help you make smarter design choices.
Tip: Does this mean it’s a democratic process? No, your leaders are still
in charge of the final plan. You’ll just reap the win-win of more good
ideas + better adoption.

1) Bad things can come from poor organizational structure
2) Those bad things will slow down your organizational growth
3) You, too, can build a great structure! Here are a few things you can remember:
Understand that structure is a lot more than lines and boxes
Make sure your org structure enables your corporate strategy
Think about how work actually gets done in your org
Your structure must create the culture you want
Remember to make work easier for your people, not just your managers
Involve your people in the design process.
4) Like what you’ve read? Share it! (see that little arrow in the left corner?)
Got it? Let’s review.
Your people will thank you.

P.S.Remember that doing this
right takes
dedicated time.
Know when to call in
the skilled resources
within your company
(or outside*) to help.
*See what we did there? We’re pretty good at this
stuff, and just geeky enough to love doing it. Call us;
we’re here to help!

your people = your success.
© 2017 PeopleFirm LLC All Rights Reserved | www.peoplefirm.com
need help putting these structure ideas into action?
let’s talk
PeopleFirm is a consulting firm dedicated to achieving that ultimate win-win:
inspired people driving inspiring performance. We focus on effective tools,
measurable, outcomes, real results, and getting your people out of their seats
and engaged in your company’s growth.
info@peoplefirm.com (206) 462-6462

Is your org structure stunting your growth?

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