Map Your Organization in a New Way
Traditional org charts are a model that depict reporting lines. What if there was a way to show the organization as the dynamic, team-based living entity that it is?
One of the tools I use when working with leadership teams is a tool called a Rings Diagram. A Rings Diagram is another way to model an organization's structure. Nothing gets redesigned, necessarily, about the organization's structure -- it just gets mapped in a different way that has more benefits to the stakeholders who reference the model.
Rings represent groups of people that share a common goal. Many of these groups are team-based task forces, but others are groups like customers or advisors. Rings touch on the diagram when there is a liaison designated to share information between the two adjacent groups. People are represented by dots positioned on the rings. People can sit on more than one ring. Rings may connect with more than one other ring. In the graphic here, you could imagine that R&D connects to the marketing ring -- marketing providing product feedback and R&D providing product advantages back to marketing.
Creating an org chart using rings will have several benefits for your team, department, or organization:
1 - Alignment
This is the most obvious benefit, but it's still very real. I've seen firsthand the calmness and 'settling down' that happens when team members see the organization mapped using a rings diagram. It's just a feeling of "ahhhh - that makes sense." Being able to wrap one's head around the entire picture can be empowering.
2 - Motivation
Recently, I worked with a team to map an organization of about 25 in a case where we wanted to show opportunities to get involved. It was important for this leadership team to inspire and invite employees to use their natural leadership and creativity in ways they felt they could contribute, without necessarily receiving a promotion. The diagram tangibly showed the team the various task forces that existed, as well as the possibility of where new task forces might fit.
3 - Democratization
A Rings Diagram is not intended to change the authority structures in an organization, it just changes our perspective. Rather than looking at the organization as a 'mountain' from the side view like a traditional org chart, with the rings, it is in plan view, meaning you are looking at the same mountain, but from a helicopter.
A subtle distinction emerges: the leadership team is now seen as the center – a force of coordination and cohesion. If you consider the organization akin to a biological being, the shape is recognized as dynamic and malleable, with the center remaining as an anchor, changing and moving the least in stable organizations.
If your team members are confused about the 'lay of the land' or who's who in the zoo, a Rings Diagram will go a long way to helping them feel oriented. Or if you just want a way to show all the teams that are working toward the common goal on one page, this can support you. Try mapping your organization using a Rings Diagram, and let me know how it goes! If you'd like support, reach out! (i’ll link to the contact page)
