The Org Chart Realities

Every organization has two structures: the one on the chart and the one that actually gets change implemented. But finding the right people is only half the work. In one engagement, redesigning the structure around a new delivery model meant cutting departments by more than two-thirds and consolidating roles by over half, with every remaining role's accountability rebuilt from scratch around the new process. In another, two dozen roles had never had a defined career ladder at all, so before change could stick, we had to build the ladder those roles were meant to climb. Skip either half, identifying the people or rebuilding the roles underneath them, and adoption stalls no matter how good the plan looks on paper.