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Organisational Design and Leadership Architecture

The Challenge

An organisation has grown faster than its structure, or hierarchies were deliberately flattened. What's missing is a target organisation that can hold, with clear governance and clear roles. Specialists have slid into leadership roles without anyone deciding what those roles actually cover. Accountability sits with several people, or with no one, and the leadership level is blocked. Conflicts get treated as personality issues, even though their causes are structural.

Here's how it becomes visible: decisions get escalated upward that belong further down. The same topics keep coming back in every leadership meeting. Good people leave, and the word leadership comes up in their exit conversations. An org chart exists, but no one works by it.

After digital transformation, workforce strategy is the second most important advisory topic, ahead of artificial intelligence.

Source: Statista, analysis of 162 advisory publications from leading firms

The Approach

How I work

  1. DiagnosisWhere decisions actually get made, not according to the org chart. Conversations with the people involved rather than a questionnaire. Across several units, I use AI-supported analysis to surface decision-making patterns across teams that stay hidden in one-to-one conversations.
  2. Target structureTogether with the leadership team, I work out which roles and which governance the next stage of growth needs, what accountability belongs where, and what gets merged. I carry the accountability for the result.
  3. StaffingTogether with the teams, we clarify who fills which role, who is being developed, and where you need to staff up or replace someone, including recruiting new team members. The uncomfortable cases belong here, not at the end.
  4. Stabilisation and handoverThe structure only holds once the leaders can actually work within it. I stay with them until that's the case, rather than handing over a concept.

In the target structure I also look at where AI takes work off leaders' plates. Newly promoted specialists often spend a large share of their time on administrative tasks that could be delegated. The new role architecture is where you decide which repetitive processes AI agents take over going forward, freeing up capacity for what actually requires leadership.

What you get at the end: a roles and accountability architecture across all units, an org chart that reflects decision-making pathways instead of titles, a playbook that captures how the teams work together, and a staffing plan with names and dates.

Duration: Three to six months, part-time. Below that, the handover isn't possible, and the structure falls back.

The Impact

Insights into my work

IT group, Munich

After the move to flat hierarchies: a five-month leadership training programme for the new team-lead level, communication workshops for staff, and coaching.

Impact: 95% satisfaction in the leadership training and 92% in the workshops. Three acute conflicts were resolved in coaching, and the solutions developed in training were implemented for good.

Amnesty International Switzerland

Moving from hierarchical to agile structures: retreats and workshops, a dual organisational structure combining stability and flexibility, and practical methods such as Kanban and daily stand-ups.

Impact: Silos were broken down, teams took on more accountability, and the organisation responds faster to change.

Canna Capital Group AG

Role architecture across several entities, a shared-services model, a team playbook, plus recruiting and replacing managing directors in two markets.

The same point of contact from diagnosis to handover

Clarifying roles and accountability is leadership work, and it needs continuity. That's why, on this topic, I bring the same person the whole way through, from the first analysis to the handover. I develop the roles together with your leaders; my contribution is to enable them to lead within the new structure.

From inquiry to proposal

  1. Brief introduction15 minutes, no obligation, by video or phone. We check whether your situation fits one of the three topics.
  2. Deep-dive on the starting situation60 minutes, on-site or remote. Concrete questions on structure, stakeholders and timing.
  3. ProposalDay or hourly rate, matched to the scope and duration of the mandate.

A conversation shows whether it's a fit.

Confidential and non-binding. In 15 minutes you describe the situation, and I'll tell you honestly whether and how I'm the right person for it.

Book a 15-minute call

Prefer to reach out directly? [email protected] or +41 79 179 30 52