Organisational Design
How an organisation is structured shapes what it can do. These resources explore approaches to designing organisations that are fit for their purpose - from governance to operating models.
Adaptive organisational design is the thinking we return to most, and the Target Operating Model is a practical way in.
Services
The hands-on work behind these resources - start with the consultancy, or go straight to a stage.
We help you design your organisation around the value you want to create - the structure, the conditions around it, and the way work actually flows between them.
A clear read of how your organisation is actually put together - what carries the work, what fights it, and what to change first.
Operating model design gives you your target operating model: the to-be blueprint for how your organisation runs - the structure, the decisions, the processes and the management system, worked out in detail and ready to put into practice. We design it with your people, so the result is genuinely theirs.
Operating Model Rollout stands your target operating model up across the organisation, function by function. We move people onto the new structure and reporting lines, put decision rights into live use, switch teams onto the redesigned processes, ready the systems and data behind them, and wire the model to the numbers that show it working. By the end the new model is live and running the work.
Evolving the operating model keeps the model you built fit and improving as strategy moves, and builds your own people's ability to run that tuning themselves. We adjust the design in small, regular cycles so it stays aligned without another big reorganisation, with an optional light rhythm where we stay involved as much or as little as you want.
Case Studies
An example of organisational design work, helping a charity redesign its structure to better deliver on its mission.
Tools
Models for designing organisational structures and operating models that support what the organisation needs to achieve.
Organisational Architecture maps the full stack of design decisions an organisation needs to make, from vision and strategy through to people, process, and technology - showing how each layer depends on the one above it.
A target operating model is the mechanism that connects what your organisation exists to do with how it creates value - the cascade from purpose, through the people you serve and the services you deliver, to the work that makes delivery happen.
The POLISM Canvas is an operating model tool that maps how an organisation actually functions across seven areas - from its value proposition to its management systems. It helps leaders visualise and redesign how work gets done.
The Galbraith Star Model is an organisational design framework that maps five interconnected elements - strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people. It helps leaders see how these elements need to align for the organisation to work well.
Articles
Thinking on adaptive design, governance, and how to create structures that enable rather than constrain.
How to design governance that enables innovation rather than constraining it. This article explores the balance between oversight and freedom, and how the right governance structures can become a genuine advantage.
Most organisational structures were designed for a different era - one where stability was the goal and change was the exception. This article explores what it means to design structures that can adapt when conditions change, and why getting this right matters more than getting the perfect org chart.
Let's talk about what you're working on
Whether you're navigating a merger, rethinking how you're structured, or trying to shift a culture that isn't working - underneath, it's the same job: getting the whole organisation pulling in the same direction. Start with a conversation.