Leaders are always peeking over each other’s shoulders to see how other teams are organized. Gaining different perspectives is useful—to a point. Too much input can cause leaders to genericize their approach to team structures, which can result in either having too many functions and not enough resources, or hyperfocusing on specific functions at the detriment of others. The bottom line is, we can’t do everything—and when we try to, quality suffers.
The best way to get around this? Step out of your comfort zone. Map out all your team’s functions, then force rank them by level of priority. Next, assess where your resources are going. Is your resource allocation in line with your functional priorities? Taking an honest look at your team’s priorities and how well resourced they are can help bring your strategy and organizational design into focus.
Put yourself in your predecessor’s shoes. You would likely have far fewer resources, but would still be expected to deliver on team and strategy goals. What should you prioritize? How would you organize the team most efficiently? Taking this approach clarifies what’s important and how to prioritize functions and resources that will set your team up for success.
