Core organization design frameworks.
We know the joke: consultants use way too many frameworks. But these are our favorites. Rooted in Jay Galbraith’s methodology and refined over years of practice, these are the essential models we rely on to guide our clients.
Often needs to slow down, spend more time together, and make fewer, bigger decisions.
The most overlooked layer: it makes the complex machinery of the organization work across boundaries.
Delegated substantial authority and accountability, and free to act within clear boundaries.
Management roles exist in a vertical hierarchy, which can be both asset and liability. To avoid the downside, each layer has to add unique value; when layers overlap there is confusion and waste. There are essentially three layers of leadership work in a large company. The strategic layer makes a small set of big decisions: the business model, the organization model, capital allocation, growth strategy, and leadership continuity. The integrative layer, the most overlooked and yet so powerful when well designed, aligns people horizontally and makes the organization work across boundaries. The operating layer runs the business day to day, with substantial authority to serve customers profitably within clear boundaries.
We first define how each layer must add unique value, then shape individual roles to fit that pattern, creating the vertical lanes within which leaders work. It brings disciplined thinking, rather than arbitrary rules, to any spans and layers discussion. Nearly all large companies have more than three levels of management, and technology may widen spans further, but these three kinds of leadership work remain. We then design the rhythm of planning and review conversations that connects the layers, so each one contributes to governance without duplicating the others.