Organizations are entrenched in their habits and routines. When these become sub optimal and structures need to pivot, how do leaders know when, what and how? Too often, restructures don’t result in their intended benefits – masking issues by moving pieces on the board around, without putting the work in to uncover root causes underlying why restructures occur in the first place. But delaying changes can cause high performing teams to lose momentum and languish. Consider the following when planning for restructures.
Key indicators of when.
There’s no signal that lights up that says “Restructure Now!”. The balance in any scenario is to remove the barriers and issues that keep high performing teams from achieving objectives without losing the things that are working well. Some signals that your organization is ready for a restructure include:
- Existing structure doesn’t optimally support the current context of the organization
- Deep dive into root causes cannot be addressed in the current structure
- There is overwhelming consensus across leadership that a restructure is needed
What to restructure.
Many aspects of an organization are involved in a restructure. Organizational processes and structure, grounded in foundations.
- Starting with foundations, leadership needs to align to purpose, mission, vision and strategy. Without this core, any restructure will fail as leaders will operate off their own playbook – leading to mixed messages and spin.
- Determining the appropriate org structure is critical once there is alignment at the foundational level. How are teams organized to deliver on the strategy? Who are leaders for the teams? What are their roles and responsibilities? Clearly defined decision rights are key to both structure and process.
- Building the right processes to deliver within the org structure includes developing the routines of teams, how they communicate and are accountable to the organization and each other. To be successful, processes need to be grounded in the values of the organization and defined by a set of design principles that help to guide, not overly govern behaviour.
How to actually do the damn thing.
This one is entirely dependent on the context of the organization. Restructures need to be handled with care as they impact at the intersection of human ambition and need for safety and security. Answering key questions when thinking about how will help to inform the how. Consider the following:
PEOPLE
- How fragile are teams in the current state?
- Are teams asking for change?
STRUCTURE
- What is the organization’s readiness for restructure?
- How severe is the anticipated impact?
TIMING
- How urgent is change needed?
- What is the history of restructures and reactions?
There isn’t just one way to think about changing an organization. What’s important is to have a deep understanding of the rationale, context and ultimately, the people within your organization. Any change will have unintended consequences but the risk of status quo when the organization is calling for change is worse. Leaders need to take great care in not just thinking, but planning a thoughtful approach to changing their organizations. Ultimately, they and their teams will need to live the new world they create.
The Objective Co 