Organisations are like organic matter -they tend to decay over time if they are not maintained and upgraded. Large part of the decay and decline happens when the leadership is unaware of what is happening in the organisation due to its size and complexity.

There is also the tendency to “over manage” and “under produce” with too many people supervising others and too few people producing output to deliver.

The solution to both these problems can be a 3 level organisation. This means an organisation can only have 3 levels and no one be more than one layer removed from the front line. So it may mean the head of sales has a regional sales head and a local sales person. That’s it. No more. The CFO can have an accounts head and someone under them to run operations. That’s it.

What is the benefit of having a 3 layer organisation

1. Visibility – the leader can see everything and everyone. They see what is going well and what is not. They know early when there are warning signs and alerts.

1. Engagement – With such a simple design it’s easy to connect. Virtually or more importantly F2F. You can have skip level conversations with your teams.

1. Superior Leadership – This means each leader will lead more people giving them more of a chance to lead, guide, supervise and learn how to lead better
2. Less Waste – With a clear lean organisation and higher visibility, you need less meetings and reviews as you know what is happening. So you cut out a lot of the unproductive areas in the organisation
3. Cost – You are leaner, meaner and able to survive both downturns and any re organisations that may come your way

The 3 layer organisation is clear, sharp and focused. It delivers and you can spot both of those who are delivering and those who are not.  You can drive a small band into a powerful tribe that can deliver exceptional results.

Analyse your organisation and teams – what would happen if they became a 3 layer organisation ?