3.1 The Problem with Organizational Charts

Before we dive fully into “What is a role,” etc., I want to briefly highlight why it makes total sense to deal with roles. 

A good old companion from the past — frequently used (and fiercely opposed by me) — is the organizational chart.

Why does an organizational chart make no sense?

• All teams develop a “secret” structure that actually gets the work done — and it has nothing to do with the org chart.

• In modern teams, people are no longer part of just one team, but of several.

• Someone who leads in one team is “just” a member in another.

• Someone might hold the same role in different teams.

• And now try to map that out on an A4 sheet with tiny boxes — for a team of 40 people where each person has five roles and is part of three teams :)

I’ve explained this in detail in a video (see links).

The funny thing is: most people get it. Instantly. They laugh and nod in agreement. Then you work together, clarify roles and responsibilities — and in the end, they say they’d love to have it all on a one-page org chart overview... 🫣🫣🫣

Links:

• Video "The problem with Org Charts": https://youtu.be/GVGevvk_lac

• Video "Empowering StartUps beyond the Org Chart": https://youtu.be/uTLqIykUww8

• Blog: https://teamdecoder.tawk.help/article/why-role-based-work-is-superior-to-a-fixed-organigram