I’m working with a Chief People Officer at a major professional services firm. They made a smart, rational move: centralize HR to drive efficiency and consistency.
On paper? Clean. Clear lines. Defined roles. Logical design.
In reality? A mess.
Because the regions still hold the P&L. And more importantly, they still hold the influence.
Decisions aren’t flowing through the new structure. They’re flowing through relationships. History. Trust.
This is where leadership teams get stuck. Months spent debating:
- Centralized vs. decentralized
- Spans and layers
- Reporting lines
But formal structure doesn’t determine how decisions get made. Influence does.
Here’s a simple test
Name the 5 people who actually drive decisions in your organization. Not by title. By behavior. Who do people call before the meeting? Whose opinion shifts the room? Who gets the real questions?
That’s your real org chart. If it doesn’t match your formal one, you’ll feel it:
- Decisions that move slower than they should
- Shadow power structures no one talks about
- Leaders with authority who can’t get things done
The goal isn’t to eliminate informal influence. It’s to see it, work with it, and align it.
Before your next organizational redesign, swap the question. Not “Who reports to whom?” But “Who influences whom?”
The chart defines structure. Influence determines what actually gets done.