Transforming Organizational Power Structure with AI

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Power Structure in Organizations
3. The Role of Lower-Level Employees
4. The Importance of Managing Work
5. The Role of Leadership
6. The Problem with Information Flow
7. The Need for Culture Change
8. Leveraging Pattern Recognition
9. The Role of Business Architects
10. Conclusion

The Power Structure in Organizations

In any organization, it's easy to assume that the power lies with the top executives. After all, they make the major decisions and guide the direction of the company. However, the information they use to make those decisions may not always be correct.

As You Trace down the organizational structure, you'll find that people at the lower levels of the organization are the ones who do most of the work. As you trace up the structure, the focus shifts from doing work to managing that work. Managing work is an important role because it ensures that the work being done aligns with the company's goals.

As you trace even further up the structure, managing gives way to leadership. At this level, even more important decisions are supposed to be made. People who get Promoted to these roles can do the work, manage people, and think strategically to make decisions that have broader implications.

The Role of Lower-Level Employees

The nature of the organizational structure creates silos. When information flows up these silos, there is a Perception that the leader will be inundated with information. Therefore, the data provided to them should be dumbed down. As the information flows up the organization, it has to be Vetted by many stakeholders, politically nuanced, generalized so that nuances are lost, and finally sanitized to avoid any finger-pointing. Essentially, the information is useless.

On the funny side of things, if a leader asks how many inches there are in a foot, the answer that comes back will be caveated with words like tentative written all over it because employees are afraid to commit.

The Importance of Managing Work

If leaders want to get around this problem, the only option is that they could attempt to change the culture. Now, that'll take a long time. Alternatively, they could go where the information is instead of waiting to get it from their subordinates. This direct access will ensure that they get the granularity desired. The only problem is that they could be overwhelmed, and after a couple of experiences of fighting through the clutter, they may give up.

The Role of Leadership

So what instead? If we leverage pattern recognition to be the translator, the data is automatically collected and analyzed without any organizational biases and presented to the leaders in an unfiltered form. You may think that this is not feasible, but Google search is a quick example of how any user can Type in a query and get the answers fast.

Some organizations have already started working on automation and transparency, but we have a long way to go. In the meantime, the role of the business architect, if structured correctly, can serve to bring the detailed data all the way up to leadership. The important thing for this role is to have independence, much like auditors, and not be biased or influenced by organizational politics.

Today, real decision-makers are those that control and manage the information. So only what should flow up in their eyes goes up. The fallout from the Wells Fargo fiasco is one example.

The Problem with Information Flow

John Stumpf, the CEO of Wells Fargo, was unceremoniously kicked out of his job because he was not likely aware of the problem that the bank employees opened fake accounts for customers. A leader would, of course, assume that the more accounts people opened with the bank, the more money they would manage, and the better the customers felt about the bank. However, this metric drove employees to open fake accounts.

The Need for Culture Change

The fallout from the Wells Fargo fiasco is a clear indication that there is a need for culture change in organizations. The power structure needs to be re-evaluated, and the role of lower-level employees needs to be given more importance. Managing work is an important role, but it should not be the only focus.

Leadership needs to be more involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, and they need to have access to unfiltered data. This will help them make better decisions that are not influenced by organizational biases.

Leveraging Pattern Recognition

Leveraging pattern recognition is one way to ensure that leaders have access to unfiltered data. This will help them make better decisions that are not influenced by organizational biases. Google search is a quick example of how any user can type in a query and get the answers fast.

The Role of Business Architects

The role of the business architect is also important in ensuring that leaders have access to unfiltered data. If structured correctly, the business architect can serve to bring the detailed data all the way up to leadership. The important thing for this role is to have independence, much like auditors, and not be biased or influenced by organizational politics.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the power structure in organizations needs to be re-evaluated. The role of lower-level employees needs to be given more importance, and leadership needs to have access to unfiltered data. Leveraging pattern recognition and the role of business architects can help ensure that leaders have access to unfiltered data.