The way team members work is dramatically different than even a few years ago. It’s not only that many companies sent employees home during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many remain working from home, and some roles turned permanently remote for organizations large and small.
Organizations of all sizes find that roles within an organization can quickly change, especially at times of growth, changes in products or services, or a shift in executive leadership. Each of these changes affect the very foundation of a company. And so its organizational chart should be flexible in order to reflect changes — in particular, for changes related to company growth.
“Change happens. It always happens. We simply like to call it growth,” Boost Midwest President Marie Stacks said at a recent ATD presentation.
Just like in building construction, a company without a strong foundation may situate the entire organization for long-term risk.
That’s one of the reasons Boost Midwest developed its Audit & Workshop for business operations utilizing the proven AIM methodology. AIM stands for Analyze, Innovate & Manage, all actions critical to maintaining a healthy company.
For the organizational structure of your company, using the Audit & Workshop Assessment :
Identifies overlaps in roles and tasks.
Improves communication methods.
Ensures the reporting structure is consistent and geared for accountability.
“Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job by providing you with sustainable solutions to take you well into the future,” Ms. Stacks noted.
Towards that goal, Boost Midwest is offering a free mini-Operations Audit Workshops where your organization can walk away with actionable items to build on.
“One of the core beliefs at Boost Midwest is that anything that we recommend actually works,” Ms. Stacks said. “The best way we ‘ve found to do this is through our AIM methodology.”
Boost Midwest’s AIM methodology builds on the current best practices in business organizations with an eye on the future.
“Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could,” Apple founder Steve Jobs once famously said.
Both skill sets are crucial. However, choosing in which direction your organization leans should be purpose driven. And this starts with the organizational chart.
When leaders aren’t intentional about that choice, the organization struggles with the tension between the two, current leadership strategy advises. And, at times of innovation, a leadership-driven organization may be the better choice. Why? Because leaders work to make their team successful, while managers wait for their teams to make them successful.
Your organization may benefit from an organizational chart that focuses on optimization over hierarchy and levels, especially at times of growth. Change and innovation can be scary. It definitely can cause anxiety at all levels of an organization.
So while an organizational chart helps codify the tasks and reporting roles company-wide, it should also be responsive to organizational changes as they occur.
Interestingly, the first organizational chart was reportedly created in 1854 for the New York and Erie Railroad as its rail lines were exponentially increasing. It found an organizational chart helped keep branch divisions accountable and was aligned with the railroad’s growth goals and vision.
So, what should your organizational chart look like?
“What it looks like today may not be the same as it will look in the future,” Ms. Stacks notes — especially in the face of increasing remote work and the growing gig economy, where 36% of the workforce is now made up of freelancers.
The mini-Operations Audit Workshops with Boost Midwest asks questions that help define the goals and vision of your company. The answers help to identify where your organizational structure may be holding your business back from greater growth, efficiency and revenues.
“We want this to be a very engaging experience,” Ms. Stacks said.
Sign up for a free mini-Operations Audit Workshops and walk away with an action guide that includes tips and next steps for implementing growth and innovation. For your organizational chart, that means learning small and powerful ways to keep your organization on track during the change process.
“This methodology is really useful no matter where you are in the phase of growth,” Ms. Stacks said, “or where you’re trying to get to from a goal standpoint.”
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Ready to learn more about how Boost Midwest can help you optimize your project management and operations? Schedule your free consultation call with us today using our Quick Schedule Link here.