01
Hierarchical controlDistributed ownership
Distributed ownership.
Design the organization so people own outcomes, not just activities.
The design principles
Seven design shifts
in the organizational architecture.
Each principle names a shift — from a pattern that keeps the organization dependent on managerial intervention, to a design property that makes autonomy systemic.
02
Responsibility matricesClear accountability
Clear accountability.
Replace fragmented responsibility models with explicit ownership of decisions, outcomes and commitments.
03
Coordination meetingsDynamic feedback loops
Dynamic feedback loops.
Create continuous mechanisms that allow information, learning and decisions to flow where they are needed.
04
Approval chainsClear decision gateways
Clear decision gateways.
Define the conditions that allow teams to move with autonomy while preserving quality, reliability and coherence.
05
Positional authorityIntrinsic equality & shared purpose
Intrinsic equality & shared purpose.
Enable people at every level to contribute their intelligence and make decisions connected to a common direction.
06
Functional departmentsValue-driven streams
Value-driven streams.
Organize around the creation of customer and business value rather than internal functions.
07
Output deliveryValue creation
Value creation.
Measure success by the impact generated, not by the amount of work delivered.
Autonomy is not trained. It is designed.