He is my boss! Wrong!

It frequently happens that a person isn't sure who is his boss. Strange you'd say? Not really. In previous blog posts, I discussed the importance of report lines and the multiple options an organization has to define the report line (see: Wanna know who's your manager? Follow the Money line!)

In this blog post, I like to discuss the importance of organization structures, in relation to Performance Management. The relationship is very simple:
He who is your boss is the one who agrees with on your objectives, measures, reviews and gives you feedback.

Unfortunately, many organizations mess already up in the beginning. More primary performance systems request the manager and employee to validate their report line in the system. It happens too often that the relationships aren't precise or even incorrect. And incorrect input... well... garbage in, garbage out. And you don't want people to set irrelevant objectives with managers that aren't going to manage them correct?

Solution:
First, ensure that you manage organization structures through a database (see: drawing organization charts is a waste of time).
Second, built a relationship between the organization structure, position based of course, and the performance hierarchy.

Keep also in mind the following principle rule of objective setting:
Objectives are primarily set against the position, and secondly to the incumbent. That way, when staff move to other areas during the year, the calibration of previous and new objectives can be controlled and managed.

A final thought:
Your reward team often coordinates the performance management process (as money is often what motivates, wrongly). In some organizations, it's organized by talent, as performance drives development (or was it vice versa?). But maybe organization development can also drive performance management and ensure alignment with structure, strategy and finance? Who will tell ;)

What is an Org Chart supposed to tell you?

I have seen all types of Organization Charts in my life. Not to say the most boring thing to look at. Although, there are some exceptions.

One of the most exciting organization diagrams I've encountered is the one of Walt Disney, showing the varied synergistic relationships between the divisions of Walt Disney Productions in 1967. Needless to say, a synergy chart for today’s Walt Disney Company would require a much bigger piece because it's more like a flowchart than anything else.

And that is what an organization chart (or diagram?) should look like: the reflection of the functions in relation to each other. So when reviewing organization charts, you better understand the "logic", look for the gaps and overlaps, and most important, can we deduct from the charts, what the organization is supposed to achieve?

Below another Organization Chart from Walt Disney. It was developed in 1943, five years after it was founded. The chart visualizes how a story from Walt (Disney) get's developed into animation, music and further in the creation of an animation movie, get's cut and produced. On the other end of the chart, you can see the customer, which is part of the organization chart (!!) watching the final product: a new animation movie.

Today's organization charts, seem not to tell you a story, but give you a blunt and dull view of who reports to who. It is not supposed to tell you anything, except who is the boss, and who manages who. In that sense it would be useful to redefine what is Organization Development and Design as a specialism (see also my previous blog on what is organization design) in order to showcase the value add of organization charts and what they are supposed to tell us.