Who Champions a Change in Organizational Structure?
Changing organizational structure has come up in so many of my conversations in the last week that I thought I should touch on it for all of you who are in the midst of such changes. One of the biggest issues in mergers coming out of these conversations was, “Who should champion the change?”. There was common agreement that the owners or members of the organization need to be served by any change in structure.
Two different types of structure change were being considered by various organizations. Some were dramatically changing how board members are selected and/or how many board members they would have. Others were in various stages of the merger process. In both types of situations there needs to be a buy-in by the owners. Most constitutions or by-laws will indicate that such changes require a 50 to 75% vote of the owners or members. Since board members are selected to be trustees on behalf of the owners, the board members have the responsibility to carefully consider structure change specifics and to communicate with the owners so they can make an informed decision about whether to support the proposed structure change.
Since major structure changes happen infrequently, most board members won’t have had previous experience with such matters. In many organizations there are several owners or members who have more organizational structure and change experience than the board members. In such cases the board is wise to establish a structure review committee with several non-board owners or members and a few board members to investigate alternatives. Even if nobody in the organization has structure change experience, it can be helpful to establish a committee with non-board members as board members’ objectivity can be clouded when the change might impact their future on the board.
The board or the committee may be tempted to delegate much of the work to staff or an outside consultant. Board and committee members are wise to seek information and advice from staff or consultants who have experience and insights on structure change. However, it is the board members and selected committee owners-members who are responsible for considering the merits of various options and preparing a summary report to inform all the owners or members.
Organizational structure is too big an issue to delegate to staff or a consultant to do on your behalf. Structure review committee and board members, as owners or members who appreciate the purpose of the organization and the impact a structure change may have on serving the owners’ interests, are the best people to champion changes in organizational structure.
