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The Beautiful Mess
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TBM 318: Why Orgs Become Too Tall
- Many companies are discussing “excessive layers of management” due to their “too tall” organizational structure, but they tend to focus on a narrow set of explanations for why this occurred.
- Two primary reasons often lead to a too-tall structure: either the team is too big or the company can’t get “wide” to absorb more people without adding layers.
- There are various reasons why companies add layers or struggle to increase spans of control, including: knowledge, skill, and experience; board and investor optics; new teams and anticipated growth; culture around team vs. individual projects; high work-in-progress; and more.
- Symmetry within and between departments can exert pressure to normalize hierarchical levels, leading to taller structures. Domain breadth and specialization, role ambiguity, buffering between layers and executive span of control are also contributors.
- Trust and delegation culture determine the structure of the organization. Flatter hierarchies are more favorable for companies that emphasize decentralized decision-making, while narrow spans are good for high oversight and control cultures.
- Remote work can enable relative flatness in organizations but requires new habits and behaviors for effective implementation.
- The reasons behind excessive layers and reduced spans of control are complex and require a holistic view for resolution.
- To avoid past mistakes, companies must learn from all these reasons and focus on creating flatter structures that promote efficient and effective management.
- Smaller teams require less oversight, hence companies should provide knowledge-sharing, training, and coaching to support their managers.
- Companies must also address the culture surrounding team vs individual projects and create a high trust culture that encourages delegation and effective support for larger teams.
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