Org Design- The Basic Building Blocks of an Organization
Having the right organization design can greatly assist an organization to achieve strategic priorities. Structure while important is not the key to organizational performance. At Groove Management, we have found that the human element is more important than the way the organizational chart is drawn. Clear reporting lines are important, but great people can operate even in inefficient structures. We have conducted hundreds of interviews with senior leaders to identify flaws in their organizational structures and in almost all cases they agree that it is not the structure that is the biggest problem, but the way people interact. The structure can create silos and enhance inefficiencies, but getting people aligned around the strategy and goals is even more important.
Groove Management works with clients of all sizes and at various stages of maturity to create org designs that will maximize performance and unlock potential. We approach org design as a collaborative endeavor where the key stakeholders are actively involved in the design process. Their involvement is critical because org design work tends to fail at the implementation phase not the design phase. Getting the key stakeholders to understand the rationale for the design decisions helps them to embrace and implement the necessary changes.
LEGO® Org Design Approach
While our consultants are all schooled in traditional approaches to org design and we leverage best practices and design models, we have found that our interactive approach yields the best results for clients. Because organizations have a tendency to focus too much on the existing people rather than the structure and roles, we looked for a way to remove the people distraction from our initial design work. Drawing org charts and boxes on paper doesn’t bring the three-dimensionality of an organization to life and it is too static. As we looked for an fun and interactive approach to laying out the current state as well as the desired future state, we though back to our childhoods and the joys of playing with LEGO® . Legos are building blocks and that is what we want organizations to focus on, the blocks, the roles, the work, not the people initially.
We introduce the LEGO® org design activity after the diagnostics have been performance and when we want leaders to build both their current state and desired future state. Physically laying out the pieces and then moving the structures on a conference table helps the team to visualize the organization and it highlights both efficiencies and flaws. Executives all enjoy the activity and it effectively keeps the people discussions at bay until the structure has been confirmed.
We then move to a discussion about the people. Does the organization have the right talent to accomplish the newly designed roles? Must they field the team they have or is it “free agency” and an opportunity to look outside the organization for talent.
Groove Management leverages our expertise in org design coupled with our facilitation skills to help organizations evolve their structure.