I am currently working with a senior leader who is re-organizing her department. In her first draft of the organizational structure, she fell into the trap of tailoring the structure around the existing capabilities of her team members. This is a common challenge when helping leaders re-think their organizational structure. While this approach has its merits, it often overlooks a critical aspect of strategic planning: designing with your goals at the forefront.

So, this week, let’s talk about the common mistakes and my recommended approach to organizational restructures.

The Common Mistake: Designing Around Current Capabilities

Many organizations structure their teams based on their team’s current skills and experiences. This approach can seem efficient because it builds on existing strengths. However, this can inadvertently lead to several issues:

• Complacency: Teams may become too comfortable and less inclined to push the boundaries of innovation and improvement.
• Skill Gaps: Over-reliance on current capabilities may prevent identifying crucial skills gaps that could hinder future growth.
• Limited Perspective: When teams are designed based on existing skills, there’s a risk of missing out on diverse perspectives that could enhance problem-solving and creativity.

Designing for Goals: A Strategic Approach

To build a truly effective organization, start with a clear understanding of your long-term goals and the strategic objectives you aim to achieve. Here’s how you can approach this:

• Define Clear Objectives: Start by clearly defining what you want to achieve. Whether it’s expanding into new markets, increasing innovation, or improving operational efficiency, having clear goals will guide the design of your organization.
• Assess Required Capabilities: Once your goals are set, determine the capabilities needed to achieve these objectives. This may include specific skills, technologies, or processes that are currently missing in your team.
• Develop a Role and Skill Blueprint: Design roles aligned with your goals, not just based on existing skills. This blueprint should outline each role and the skills required to perform effectively. Lay these roles out in an org chart WITHOUT any names attached to each role.
• Map Current Skills to the Org Design: Evaluate how the existing skills of your team members align with the required capabilities for each role. Identify the best fit for each employee and where there are gaps.

Aligning Team Development with Organizational Needs

After designing your organizational structure to meet your goals, the next step is to align your team’s development with these needs:

• Targeted Training and Development: Implement training, mentoring, and coaching programs tailored to close the skills gaps identified in your assessment. Focus on both upskilling and reskilling employees.
• Recruitment to Fill Gaps: For skills that are critically lacking and cannot be developed internally in the required timeframe, look towards hiring new talent to bring these capabilities to your team.
• Continuous Evaluation: Organizational needs and goals evolve. Regularly review and adjust your organizational design and development programs to stay aligned with your strategic objectives.

I have many years of experience with organizational restructuring, including communication and change management strategies to accompany it. The most challenging structures have been for my own team because I was too close and personally invested in it. If you’re experiencing similar challenges, let’s talk and see if I can assist.

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Wishing you the best!