Teams and organizations
Teams and organizations on the board
An org chart shows who reports to whom. A board shows where the work actually flows, who is watching whom, and which role nobody is standing in. Those are rarely the same picture.
What changes when the system is a company
- Roles, not people. A figure often stands for a function that has had three occupants. Ask which one the client is picturing.
- The system has an edge, and it matters. Customers, regulators, the parent company and the market are usually off the board and usually should not be.
- History is a participant. A merger, a founder, a failed project. If it still changes decisions, it deserves a figure.
- Less emotional risk, more political risk. Nobody is going to cry, but a client may be describing a board they would not want their manager to see.
Four setups that earn their time
The team as it is
Everyone in the team, placed by working closeness rather than by reporting line. Then place the manager. Then ask what the org chart would look like if it matched the board. The gap between the two is usually the session.
Role conflict
One figure per role the client holds: manager, expert, colleague, parent, the person who used to do the job. Place them all around the client. Ask which two are pulling hardest, and which one has no room to stand.
Stakeholder map
One figure per stakeholder in a project, turned to show where their attention actually goes. Field of view is worth using here: a sponsor who is not looking at your project is a different problem from one who is looking and unhappy.
Before and after a reorganization
Build the current structure, then build the proposed one beside it. Ask who moves furthest, who loses a line of sight, and who ends up at the edge who is not at the edge today.
Questions for organizational boards
- Where does the work actually flow, as opposed to where the arrows on the chart point?
- Who has to know things they are not standing close enough to hear?
- Which role is empty? Who is covering it without being asked?
- Who is looking at the customer? Anyone?
- If your CEO placed this board, what would move?
- What has been true here for longer than anyone currently in the room?
Using it with a group
With a whole team present, one board built by one person and then discussed works better than a board built by committee. Let one person place, then ask each of the others what they would move and why. You get several honest pictures without anyone having to argue for theirs from scratch.
A caution worth taking seriously
A board of a real team, built by one of its members, is sensitive material about people who are not in the room and did not consent. Agree at the start what leaves the session. On this site nothing is uploaded while you work, which makes that promise easier to keep.
Try it on your own situation
Free, no account, and nothing is uploaded. Place a few figures and see what the distances tell you.
