altMBA - Org Chart Transitions
Org Chart Transitions maps a reorganisation by drawing the current and future structure side by side, naming every changed reporting line, and building an explicit timeline for who moves when.
Two org charts sit side by side, with arrows and dates marking exactly which lines move first.
Reach for this when…
- A reorg is coming and the rumour mill is already ahead of you.
- You need to show people the future structure before you can ask them to trust it.
- Reporting lines are changing and nobody has mapped who moves when.
How to run it
- Draw the current structure and the proposed future structure.
- Identify every role change, reporting-line change, and person affected.
- Communicate the rationale for the change using a clear narrative.
- Manage the transition timeline explicitly: who moves when and how they're supported.
A worked example
Situation. Marisol Reyes was COO of a BPO firm in Cebu, Philippines, merging two regional support teams into one and dreading the rumour mill before she'd said a word.
Applied. She drew the current and future org charts side by side, listed every person whose reporting line moved, and built the rationale before setting the timeline.
Result. The transition took six weeks. Only one senior lead left, instead of the mass exodus she'd feared.
The catch
Drawing the future structure is the easy half; the timeline of who moves when and how they're supported is where transitions actually succeed or fail. It says little about how to handle people who don't fit anywhere on the new chart. And the rationale has to be genuinely honest, not corporate-speak - people can tell the difference.
The org chart is the announcement. The timeline is the transition.
Origin: Seth Godin / Dale Williams