From Managers to Coaches: A New Approach to Organizational Design
At its core, organizational design is the art and science of shaping a company’s team to better achieve its goals.
Most companies fall into similar patterns. Early-career employees, customer-facing professionals, and individual contributors enter the organization in numbers. A smaller team of management professionals is responsible for their performance and development. A still-smaller team of executives is one tier above, translating larger company aims into quarterly ambitions and day-to-day goals.
But in the third quarter of 2023, following a world-changing event and a year of corporate recovery, it’s worth asking a management-level question: is that structure working? A Gallup report suggests the answer is no. An alarming 59% of the world’s employees are ‘quiet quitting’--filling the seat and watching the clock. Worse, only 2 in 10 employees strongly agree that their performance is being managed in a motivating way.
The numbers answer us plainly: we need to do better to drive engagement, improve performance, and motivate our teams.
One company experimented with a visionary shift in its organizational design. Time Etc., a virtual assistant platform company, replaced their managers with coaches. They settled on a ratio of 1:6 employees. After surveying employees about their desired management style, they found that feedback, goal setting, professional development, and autonomy were recurring themes. These attributes sounded more like a coach than a manager, prompting the switch in Time’s strategy. It worked. The company has reported that productivity and employee satisfaction is up 20%.
Experts with Forbes are calling this a ‘new movement,’ an approach to organizational design that replaces technical units of employee management with an emphasis on value, purpose, and forward-looking inspiration.
We look closer at this kind of leadership strategy in our twice-yearly cohorts of our Lead for Good program. We turn hierarchical structures upside down to work with a leadership model called the Upside-Down Triangle. The traditional chain of command works from the top down, originating from the C-Suite leaders and trickling down through the hierarchy. Flipping the pyramid upside down engages and empowers the people closest to the ‘doing’ to deliver the best customer experience.
I had an unforgettable example of this visiting my 93-year-old mother at the Oakmont Senior Living Facility in Sacramento, California. How reassuring it was to ‘feel’ the kindness, warmth, engagement, and awareness of every person delivering care over the course of the week–from the front desk concierge to the individual caretakers, med techs, and kitchen staff. Every question I asked was answered. Every staff member shared stories of why they chose Oakmont and why they loved the work they do there. To see an in-action team completely immersed, radiating purpose and positivity without being prompted, was extraordinary. Judgment, maturity, perspective, and commitment aren’t trainable, but they’re achievable when we hire for it, encourage it, mentor it, and nurture it.
We equip managers with productivity systems, performance management strategies, and conversation templates. None of those focus areas are relevant without employee buy-in. A 59% quiet quit rate is 59% too high, but it affords executive leaders the opportunity to rethink organizational design and get closer to the kind of inspired, motivated, and united teams we need in the workforce.
When I think about my decades as an executive coach working with savvy business leaders, I find their greatest growth comes from learning about human behavior, increasing their self-awareness, developing compassion, and refining their emotional regulation. Young professionals, customer-facing executives, and hands-on contributors are looking for the exact same lessons. As a workforce, are we committed to delivering those development opportunities? Are we recruiting people, designing roles, and purchasing resources with the wrong kind of ‘management’ in mind?
Imagine what it would mean to develop our managers into leaders, and how buy-in would change if career progression meant becoming more aware, compassionate, empathetic, and confident. When I ask my executive clients to describe the person in their lives who has empowered their best performance, they always describe the feelings that person imparted:
Trusted–to serve a greater good.
Empowered–supported in the decisions I make
Engaged–knowing why I’m here and giving my all
Cared for–not just for the results I could produce but for who I am
Focused–united in a shared purpose
Connected–invested in relationships that build bonds
Valued–for my unique perspective
Developed–preparing to lead, not just to train in technical skills
The new movement of organizational design prioritizes the development of the individual over the training of the employee. Trust, empowerment, engagement, care, focus, and connection will be our new tools. Look for the natural coaches on your teams–the ones people are drawn to regardless of their role or status. Consider the diamonds in the rough who could be course-changing leaders with some dedicated guidance. Finally, look outside of your organization. Coaching is a growing field, and rethinking your organizational design can help you bring skilled, experienced, and energized coaches through your doors. Ask candidates for their stories, their evidence, their references, and their demonstrated coaching successes. When you find your fit, give them the space and freedom they need to make their mark.
Sherri McArdle is a wife and mother to adult children and has been a business leader/owner for over 25 years. She is also a Master Certified Coach and Certified Neuro-Transformational™ Coach to leaders and executives across the country, and a trained mediator. Sherri McArdle LLC is a New York State certified woman-owned business enterprise.
