Page 182 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Assessing Your Organization’s Health 167

An Efficient Organizational Structure
Also check the organizational chart. The reporting structure should help peo-
ple work efficiently. Should it be a dynamic network or a more formal struc-
ture? We know one executive who runs the European region of a global
organization and uses diagrams that look like connecting webs to represent
how his teams should be working across business lines, functions, and coun-
tries. Structure should be simple and reflect the work flow and the way peo-
ple really work together. Make sure the organization charts or more dynamic
graphic representations reflect how people really need to interact, and encour-
age efficient work flow that maintains the standard for quality.
As we move through the first quarter of the twenty-first century, the rule
of thumb is to keep organizations as lean, flexible, and fluid as possible, which
can reduce bureaucratic organizational gridlock.

TARGET 3. POLITICS, POWER, AND CULTURE
When assessing the politics of your new organization, look for centers of
power. Where is the informal and formal power? Who has networks of influ-
ence and can get things done, and who doesn’t? Look at your organization’s
climate and culture and its values and beliefs. Make sure you work hard to
build excellent working relationships with “high influencers” in order to
achieve the goals and vision you have established with your team and organ-
ization. You can use the third Just Promoted Leader Tool (given in Chapter 2),
Building Stakeholder Partnerships, to analyze your key stakeholder relation-
ships and to identify ways in which you can enhance your relationship with
critical stakeholders.
Formal and Informal Influence

One of the most difficult diagnostic problems is assessing the power of those
who do not initially support you. Because they may have been in the function
a long time, you may feel that they have more political allies than you. That
may be true. But their having more allies does not mean they have more power.
While they have informal power, you have the formal power, and, depending
on how you build your vision and develop support and influence, you should
be able to develop very strong informal power and influence as well. Chapter
2 includes a number of ideas that will be useful for you in this regard. The