In a turbulent world, the ability to adapt how we organise has become a critical leadership skill. Our research explores the practical realities of organisation design, moving beyond the “structure chart” to understand how to transition effectively into new ways of working.
Key Findings
- Participation is All: As the lifespan of organisational forms reduces, design must be an ongoing, participative process. Involving the right people early builds the trust necessary to make difficult choices and ensures easier transitions.
- Technical, Social, and Political: Organisation design is never just a technical exercise. It triggers anxieties and power dynamics. Leaders must attend to the “social system”—the hopes, fears, and ambitions of those affected.
- Good Enough vs. Perfect: There is no “perfect” design. Success lies in reaching a “good enough” agreement on trade-offs—such as balancing innovation with governance—that enables the delivery of strategic aims.
- Transitions as Culture-Creating: The “real work” starts after the design is agreed. The transition phase is full of culture-creating moments, such as how appointments are managed and how endings are marked.
Methodology
We interviewed 25 leaders and change agents about their experiences of facilitating redesigns. This was supplemented by deep-dive inquiries into our own consulting practice and a review of established frameworks like the Galbraith STAR model and the Operating Model Canvas.
Conclusions & Recommendations
- Accept the mess. It is risky to take a linear approach to organisation design, assuming that you can simply develop a design in isolation and then implement it. The reality is more likely to consist of loops and strands that intertwine.
- Focus on good enough. Avoid the seduction of perfection by focusing on a good enough design which enables delivery of the agreed strategic aims, is able to adapt and flex, and is motivating for those working within it.
- Choose participative design processes. Involving the right people in a considered way helps you build and maintain trust and credibility across the organisation. This is essential when it comes to implementation and to redesigning again in the future.
- Build rigour and space for creativity into your design process. The design process needs to be rigorous enough to contain anxieties, enable decision-making, and to allow space for creative solutions to design challenges. Ensure you have an iterative process that deliberately allows for phases of divergent and convergent thinking.
- Design with the future in mind and neglect history at your peril. Good design addresses the challenges of tomorrow. However, the past is also a strong influence on how people will react and respond to reorganisations and change. Use the learning from past design processes to help you design for your current strategy.
- Take transitions seriously. Plan for implementation and make a realistic assessment of what level of support people will require to help them to let go of the past, learn new skills, and transition into new roles and teams. If you are making radical changes then you will need to invest more time, resources and energy than if you are making more incremental adjustments. Consider what will be the major difficulties people will experience and talk to them about the help and support they want and need.
- Leadership is critical. Leaders need to provide clear and consistent messages throughout on why change is necessary, the scope and intentions of the design effort, and what the new design will mean in practice. Attend to both the rational-technical and social aspects of organising, exercising confident judgement, empathy and political sensitivity.
- Develop internal design capability. Ensure you have skilled and capable change agents who understand the organisation design process and have credibility with senior managers. Invest in developing these skills.
Interested in Metalogue’s approach to organisation design? Find out more here.
