How to Organize Your Team for Optimal Results

The following is adapted from A CEO Only Does Three Things.

In your professional life, you’ve probably encountered the concept of “playing to your strengths” in organizational hierarchy. The idea of placing people in roles that leverage their strengths to meet the organization’s goals is profound, but it doesn’t happen without design.

In this article, I’ll share research on this subject from renowned organizational psychologist Elliot Jaques, who has spent his career learning how to get the optimal results from people in the workplace. Jacques’s work answers the question: “Why is it that two people, similarly situated, can perform so differently in the same position?”

His answer: time horizons and levels of work.

Matching Time Horizons to Levels of Work

Jaques believed there was something inherent in each individual that made them capable of optimally executing tasks only within a narrow time-frame. He proposed that organizations should be arranged hierarchically on the basis of those time-frame capabilities—that is, those employees with the longest time-frame should be at the top of the hierarchy.

The more we know about our people, the better we can manage them, and the better results we can produce for our company. Jaques’ research indicated that 65 percent of employees are mismatched to the wrong position. Think about that. Over half of your team could be in the wrong roles.

That’s a tragedy in terms of their individual potential and the potential of your business.

People are happier and produce more when they are in a role that fits their internal horizon. 

Consider this: Michael Jordan is a legendary basketball player but had a mediocre professional baseball career. If his athletic career were judged solely on his baseball ability, it would be forgettable. That’s ridiculous, of course. Everyone knows Jordan was a basketball icon. 

In your company today, you could have a Michael Jordan in your midst—but they might be playing the wrong sport. When we ignore levels of work, we may unknowingly leave an all-star on the bench. Good business is designing positions according to the level of work required, and then filling them with people whose time horizons are a perfect fit.

Leadership that understands this philosophy has a competitive advantage over those who simply manage people for their personalities and experience and hope for the best.

Classification and Inventory

So how do you tackle the process of assembling and organizing your team to reach maximum productivity? This goes back to Jaques’s belief that organizations should be arranged hierarchically on the basis of levels of work. Those team members with the ability to think, plan, and execute over a longer period of time without direct supervision should be in senior positions and supported by those with shorter individual time horizons. 

Getting time horizons and levels right is a masterstroke of leadership. It requires you to complete two tasks: a position classification and a people inventory. 

To complete your position classification, take a long look at each position on your organizational chart. Ask yourself: “What is the ideal amount of time that a person in this position should be able to work without direct supervision or guidance to produce optimal results?” Your answer may include a time horizon like: “Weekly to Monthly,” “Monthly to Quarterly,” or “Annually.” 

Complete your people inventory by examining each person in your organization with an eye toward their personal time horizon. Ask yourself: “How long can this person work without direct supervision and still produce optimal results?” Your answer should fall within a narrow horizon such as “Quarterly to Annually” or “Monthly to Quarterly.”

Once you have completed both exercises, compare the results. What conclusions can you reach? Are there people in your organization ill-suited for the position they’re in? 

The Importance of Restructuring

Several years ago, my organization reached a crossroads and we had to make a bold decision to restructure. Our sales had been increasing, and it was becoming too great a burden for a salesperson to generate a new client and service their needs throughout our client lifecycle. We needed role specialization, so we created a Client Success team.

Earlier in the year, we had added a new sales team member named Robert. His first year was adequate as a lower level team member, but he was frustrated and told me that he planned to leave at the end of the year. I listened closely to the language he used to describe his work and it became apparent that while he was tasked at a lower level, he operated on a higher level time frame. I had offered him the wrong position.

Over the following weeks, I shared with him my vision of restructuring our sales and service organizations. I asked him to be a founding member of the Client Success team and help me build that team as its Director, a higher level position. We threw his old compensation plan out and made a new one commensurate with the needs of the new position. 

His work in the new position has been nothing short of life-altering for me, my organization, and our salespeople. It has allowed us to more efficiently onboard new clients and to keep them happy long-term. If I hadn’t followed the Jaques model, I would have lost him forever and he would have left the role thinking less of himself.

The Key to Success

As you can see, applying Jaques’s ideas at an organizational level can dramatically influence success. To experience that success, however, you must look at people as individuals by applying the idea of levels and time horizons to each person.

When you understand these concepts, it will transform your approach to hiring, staffing, and managing in a way that brings out the best in your team to achieve optimal results. 

The power of understanding this model cannot be overstated. It will empower your people to become a powerful driver of your company’s results. While other leaders are guessing at what their people need and where they might fit in, you will have a proven framework for engaging and leading your team. Using this model to your advantage will improve your culture and ultimately the success of your organization.

For more advice on empowering your employees for success, you can find A CEO Only Does Three Things on Amazon.

Trey Taylor is the managing director of trinity | blue, a consultancy designed to provide executive coaching and strategic planning to C-Suite leaders. His experience derives from fields as diverse as technology, financial services, venture capital, and commercial real estate development.  Frequently featured as a keynote speaker, he has addressed attendees at the Human Capital Institute, the Ascend Conference, and many other engagements. You can find out more about Taylor’s consulting work at trinity-blue.com.