Like it or not, this is a
famous painting by Pablo Picasso. A popular quote goes something like; "art is
in the eye of the beholder." It’s the value of the beholder that is not equal.
Scan the lower images, what do these images have in
common? I see vertical and
horizontal lines in the chart that create a formula, but for me the are just
abstract lines like the work of art remains for many.
What do you see when you look at your
business?
Have you ever create a flow chart to explain roles and relationships
between job titles, departments and your consumer?
In a recent industry blog
post from Promotional Consultant, Cassandra
Johnson shared some interesting tips on how to look at the organizational chart
of one’s business. The artist in me immediately gravitated to the analogies
between liner perspectives versus the more “out of the box” vision that might be crafted by Picasso.
In school I struggled to understand algebra. How could A + B = C? I recall
telling my teacher those characters seemed abstract variables to me; variables
that might have informal but meaningful or additional relationships that did
not fit into the liner formula.
Johnson summaries business coaching tips from Ruth Schwartz in the shared blog post below.
Owner, Olivia Scott
"Everything you can
imagine is real..." Pablo Picasso
If Picasso Drew Your Org Chart
Every organization has them—organizational
charts. These geometric structures of boxes and lines represent people, teams,
jobs and reporting structures. But what do they represent about the company?Promotional Consultant Today shares business coach Ruth Schwartz's view on org charts, asking the key question, "How would Picasso design your org chart?"
Schwartz states her disdain for traditional box and line org charts for many reasons, including:
1. They are vertical, not horizontal.
2. People are represented as boxes.
3. You can't see the informal relationships of an organization.
4. They are a myopic internal vision of a company.
5. There are no customers represented.
6. No core value, noble cause, purpose, mission, or vision is visible.
7. They don't promote leadership and mentor-ship or innovation at multiple levels.
If you were to redesign your org chart, what would it look like? Step outside the boxes and lines we generate from HR software today. Instead, use your imagination and follow these guidelines:
- Create a metaphor that represents your business. (What would Picasso do?)
- Draw your company's missions, vision and values into this picture. Remember that your heart is central.
- How do people intersect with each other, customers, and your community?
- How do people REALLY (informally) interact?
- Are you cross-functional or departmental? Can silos be replaced?
- How do you make and spend money? Can you represent that in the nature of the drawing?
- Where is your leadership pipeline? Where is the upcoming bench strength and how do you illustrate it?
- How do you represent roles, titles and hierarchy in the picture?
- Now, place yourself where you want to be rather than where you may find yourself today.
This organizational vision is a critical step toward creating unique organizations that we want to be part of, rather than being defined by the hierarchy of an organization.
Source: Ruth
Schwartz is an internationally certified business leadership coach,
motivational speaker and author. She owns High Performance Advocates, a management
and leadership coaching company.
Compiled by Cassandra
Johnson, Promotional Consultant Today
