HIERARCHY AND TEAMS
Team Building Glossary
Team Building — Hierarchy and Teams
Information on Hierarchy and Teams
Hierarchy and Chain of Command—even if downplayed, as is typically the case today, the majority of larger organisations are structured with lots of worker bees in the lower ranks and decreasingly fewer people as you get closer to the top of the pyramid. For whatever else this means, and given that power rests in the higher ranks, decision authority and directives come from the top. This a major factor to consider in moving to a flatter, more-empowered organisational culture. The entire work experience of many employees—workers and managers alike—is familiar with this traditional flow. Routine behaviour, communication skills, and decision and authority systems may all need revamping. Many managers simply cannot cope with decisions being made by teams at levels below them. Managers feel or are actually held accountable for decisions; and the organisation cannot "let go." In other cases, "would be" accountable team members lack the skills and confidence to make decisions or solve problems as a group.
Other topics in our resources on Team Building related to Hierarchy and Teams include:
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