INTHEBLACK October 2021 - Magazine - Page 19
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A R AS H A R A B I
SPRINT AGILE
MICHAEL MCQUEEN
FUTURIST AND AUTHOR
MEET THE
EXPERTS
DR BEATRICE HOFMEYR
Not every business capability needs a “chief”.
Typically, “CxOs” lead a department or a unit
responsible for a specific business capability, such as
finance, operations, IT or distribution. However, this
does not mean that every business capability requires
a centralised unit or department. Certain capabilities
need to be decentralised across multiple units. For
example, one may argue that health and wellbeing or
distribution are capabilities that every department
needs.
Having these critical capabilities embedded within
departments in cross-functional teams means
everyone gets quick access to specialised skills and
expertise with a faster turnaround time. Also, experts
embedded within the unit are closer to where the
day-to-day work happens, which means they can
make more effective decisions that don’t make it
harder for people to do their jobs.
A disadvantage of cross-functional teams is that
we often end up in a situation where everyone is
doing their own thing, and there is no alignment or
central vision for the capability. Many organisations
implement a matrix structure to solve this problem,
which means creating chapters or centres of
excellence (COEs) for the distributed capabilities.
These COEs provide the experts embedded within
various departments the centralised alignment,
vision and leadership they need. For example, many
large enterprises decide to create a user experience
(UX) COE instead of having a chief UX officer. Each
department hires its own UX specialists, but they all
operate within the centralised UX COE.
The decision to centralise or decentralise a capability
depends on the nature of the business. As businesses
adapt to changing environments, they will need to
make the right decisions for their unique situation.
_
Having these critical capabilities embedded within
departments in cross-functional teams means
everyone gets quick access to specialised skills and
expertise with a faster turnaround time.
The C-suite in many organisations has
changed rapidly over recent years, with the
emergence of new positions, from chief
digital officer to chief trust officer.
Added to this, we have seen the traditional
responsibilities of chief information officers
and chief technology officers taken over by
other parts of a business, ranging from
operations to marketing.
While there may be something to be said
for adding a new title and role to the C-suite
focusing on disruption, identifying and
preparing for disruption is every leader’s job
within an organisation, regardless of title.
More importantly, those most attuned to
looming disruptions are often found on the
front line of an organisation rather than in the
hallowed halls of power.
Customer-facing staff tend to sense
changes in the marketplace along with the
threats and opportunities these developments
pose long before those near the top.
A vital function of a disruption-focused
portfolio must be to unearth the ideas and
innovations that are buried in an
organisation’s ranks and have these insights
rise to the top. Simply changing the titles of
executives might be a good start in seeing
this happen, but it’s only a small part of the
equation.
Dr Beatrice Hofmeyr is founder
and director of Hofmeyr
Consulting, a boutique
management consultancy
specialising in organisational
design. Over the past 25 years,
she has led more than 220
organisational design initiatives
with clients such as Qantas,
Transport for NSW, Sydney
Water, BHP and TAFE NSW.
Her organisational design
methodology and tool kit are
the foundation of the Advanced
Organisational Design course
offered by the Australian
Human Resources Institute.
ARASH ARABI
Arash Arabi is a globally
recognised transformation
consultant, entrepreneur
and founder of Sprint Agile,
a management and training
consultancy whose clients
include some of Australia’s
largest organisations. He is
also the author of The wise
enterprise: Reshape your
organisation for the age
of uncertainty.
MICHAEL MCQUEEN
_
While there may be something to be said
for adding a new title and role to the C-suite
focusing on disruption, identifying and
preparing for disruption is every leader’s job
within an organisation, regardless of title.
Futurist Michael McQueen is an
award-winning speaker, trend
forecaster and bestselling
author of nine books. A regular
commentator on TV and radio,
he has helped some of the
world’s most successful brands
including KPMG, Pepsi and
Cisco navigate disruption.
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