Building stronger and more effective leadership teams requires thoughtful consideration of the "context" in which the team operates.  As organizations grow and mature, it is important to periodically reconsider how roles and responsibilities are distributed.  Often, the structure of the organization was designed to fit a very different situation and scale of operation.  The individual job descriptions within that structure typically reflect the strengths of the people in those roles at an earlier time.  The existing organization and job design may not be the most effective in pursuing current and future goals.

A good question to ask yourself …. "If I was creating this organization from scratch today, knowing what I know now and with no existing staff to consider, how would I design the organization structure and what would the individual job descriptions look like?" 

Organizational structure and job design provides the architectural framework for building an effective team by clarifying individual roles, relationships and authority.   The various responsibilities must form a coherent whole job.  Decision making authority must align with responsibilities.  People must be able to "get their arms around" the scale and scope of the job.  Leaders need time for critical thinking, creative problem solving and mentoring of subordinates.  Opportunities for employee development and succession planning can be built into the architecture of the organization.