Organisations resemble their conversations more than their org charts
To understand an organisation, we usually look at its org chart. But what happens day to day depends far more on the conversations people have.
When we want to understand an organisation, we usually start by looking at its org chart.
Who reports to whom. What departments exist. How responsibilities are distributed.
And that makes sense.
But an org chart rarely explains how an organisation really works.
Because what happens day to day depends far more on the conversations people have.
The conversations where decisions are made. The ones that help people coordinate. The ones that build trust. The ones that make it possible to address disagreements. And also the ones that never happen at all.
After 18 years of supporting organisations, we have seen companies with very different structures face surprisingly similar challenges. And we have also seen organisations with almost identical structures achieve completely different results.
More often than not, the difference was not in the organisational design. It was in the quality of the conversations taking place within it.
Because an organisation can have a brilliant strategy and highly capable people. But if the important conversations are not happening, sooner or later obstacles begin to emerge.
Decisions are delayed. Misunderstandings pile up. Conflicts go unaddressed. Teams work alongside one another without ever truly connecting.
That is why, when we support processes related to change, culture, strategy, or leadership, we are interested in understanding something beyond the structure itself:
How are decisions made here? Which conversations are difficult to have? What topics tend to be avoided?
Because very often, the answers to those questions tell us more about an organisation than any org chart ever could.
Perhaps that is why, after all these years, we still believe the same thing:
Organisations are not just structures. They are networks of conversations.
This reflection is part of a document we’ve put together to celebrate 18 years of supporting organisations: “18 Things We’ve Seen Happen Again and Again”. 📥 Download it here in Spanish.