An org chart du jour and a direction that changes with the weather breed both confusion and intellectual paralysis. People get tired of running in circles, and eventually decide to ignore management’s latest whim. Or they develop their own interpretations of what management wants, leading to conflict and chaos. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.
Vicki Henry, owner of Feedback Plus, has an open ledger policy for her employees. They can read the company’s financial statements any time they wish. Their compensation is based upon their work team’s and company’s performance vs. the annual goals and action plans they’ve collectively developed. Of course it may not be feasible for every company to have an open ledger policy, but it is important that, whatever the size of the organization, each employee knows where they are going and how they’re supposed to get there.