Hack:
Organizational Structure Flip

In a recent presentation given by Gary Hamel, he commented on a survey result that only 20% of employees feel are engaged in their work.  This is not due to the nature of the work being performed since 80% enjoy their work and believe it to be interesting.  The problem lies in a lack of empowerment and a closely linked connection between the work being done and its contribution to overarching company goals.  One example is an investment management firm with corporate goals of increasing assets-under-management.  An employee in the operations department sees this as the job of the sales team and not a direct result of his/her processing and reconciliation of orders.  

 

My solution is to change the organizational structure so that employees no longer report "up" to a manager, but "sideways."  In such a way, the manager becomes a peer instead of a boss.  A key component would be to change the managers role from one of pushing down corporate strategy and directing from above to one where his/her key role is a facilitator.  Instead of "telling people what to do" the job requires asking "how can I help you do your job?"