Charts R Us! One way to keep employees organized and focused on the hierarchy (and your authority) is to maintain an organization chart and a decision process flowchart. In either chart, all lines between objects should depict the flow of authority and information with one-way arrows. In each case, the object representing your position in the organization or process will have arrows leading only away from it. This will underline for all the fact that you are the boss, you are in charge, and you will give directions and information, not the other way around.
A chart only needs to show one view of the organization: yours. The interrelationships of people and sub-organizations in your company are undoubtedly highly complex, and may represent nothing so much as a bowl of spaghetti in a tornado. You can’t show all the dotted, dashed, thin, thick, and different colored lines, or the chart would be unreadable. The key is to make sure the chart shows that you are in charge. What the chart doesn’t show is open to you to define as you like, and change as suits your mood. While your employees may struggle and waste time trying to figure out who is the right person to contact in any given circumstance, you will maintain control, and, their time is a sunk cost anyway. In fact, they probably spend a hundred times more time looking at the Dilbert website than your organization chart, so there is no loss involved at all.
A confusing organization chart can set you free and bolster your power. There is an additional advantage to keeping your organizational chart over-detailed and confusing. If it is detailed enough it can daunt your superiors, thus underlining to them what a tough job you have, and how much better you are than they at organizing your complex part of the business. At the same time it can keep your subordinates off guard as they struggle to understand how things should work. Used correctly, an organization chart or process flow chart will support your position of authority yet give you the flexibility to control the organization as you see fit, while reinforcing to your superiors an appearance of how well you maintain a highly organized and efficient organization.
interesting related reading:
What The Organizational Chart Doesn’t Tell You, Position descriptions in the IT industry
Tags: bad management, business humor, management humor, organization chart
