An innovative open organization chart

The ability to react quickly and adapt to changing situations is critical in today's business and work environment. In the past, offering efficient, standardized systems was the way to reduce costs and provide more to the public. In today's rapidly changing world, that's not enough. Modern organizations need to rely on the five Open Organization Principles: Transparency, Inclusivity, Adaptability, Collaboration, and Community.

Today, there are too many interdependencies to stick to the traditional top-down organization chart. And that was the focus of the Open Organization Ambassadors in this round-table discussion to explore the concept of an innovative open organization chart.

The discussion was inspired by General Stanley McChrystal’s book Team of Teams. You can read more about it in Ron’s two-part article series: Exploring innovative Open Organization charts and How innovative Open Organization charts work in practice.

In the video, Jimmy Sjolund, Heidi Hess von Ludewig, and Ron McFarland discuss how organizations can transition from rigid, traditional hierarchies to more agile, collaborative, and adaptable structures. Key takeaways include:

The Inverted Hierarchy: Ron advocates for flipping the traditional organization chart upside down. In this model, management serves a support function, providing resources and guidance to the front-line staff who create the primary value for the organization.

Team of Teams Approach: Based on insights from McChrystal’s book, the speakers discuss replacing strict command-and-control structures with networked teams. These teams coordinate directly with one another, allowing for faster decision-making and improved adaptability in complex environments.

Liaison Officers for Collaboration. You don't need to have everyone know every member of the other teams in the organization. You only need one quality team member (a representative) to know all the other related teams. That one representative can present and speak for his team members on how their work impacts other teams.