How can you tell? What should you look for? Like many things, it’s not always clear what issues are causing teams to miss deadlines and financial targets consistently. However, there may be subtle indicators of teams not operating at optimal levels.

You can start by asking yourself if you observe these things:

• Is information being repeated in meetings?

• Are the same key people answering the same questions multiple times?

• Do all employees report directly to one person?

• Is one person responsible for reviewing and touching every transaction?

• Do you have high employee turnover?

• Do you have low employee morale?

When these behaviors become the norm, your team is not operating at its optimal level. However, making a change can feel overwhelming. How do you decide between dancing with the “devil you know”; keep doing what you’ve been doing? Or the “devil you don’t know”; making a change? If your company is growing, the organizational structure and methods must evolve to keep pace!

A simple current assessment of core business processes, roles and responsibilities, as well as key skills and knowledge, is a practical starting point. Next, define your future state needs in these areas based on the organization’s strategic plan. The gap between the current state and future state will inform your priorities, planning, and decisions. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates.

Visit RKCMANAGEMENTCONSULTING.COM for ideas and methods to guide your organization away from CHAOS and toward steady, reliable progress.