What If We Built Better Organizations Instead of Trying to “Fix” People?

Ever found yourself navigating layers of bureaucracy just to submit a travel expense?

Or wondering why, after the global IT rollout, your team is back to calculating tens of thousands of bonuses and options in Excel?

Maybe you’ve noticed how roles, contacts, and processes seem to vanish after a reorganization.

Or experienced tensions between departments that stem not from ill will, but from misaligned priorities?

These are not uncommon experiences in large organizations. Over the past 30 years—both from within and as an external coach and consultant—I’ve observed organizations from multiple angles, and honestly? I still don’t understand half of what’s going on.

And yet, amid all the shifting structures, outdated tools, and ambiguous processes, one thing is clear:

In the end, it’s people who keep the system running.

They step in when processes falter. They adapt, improvise, and take on responsibilities beyond what’s expected—often without recognition, but with hours of overtime, stress, and sometimes burnout.

When things go well, we celebrate them: employee of the month, photo in the canteen.

When things go wrong, we might default to performance reviews, coaching sessions, or even dismissals. It seems we personalize and moralize individual behavior instead of addressing the systemic flaws:

“Anna is simply too old-school.” “Peter just isn’t committed enough.”

But what if the issue isn’t just individual behavior?

What if the system is quietly asking for more than it was designed to handle—and more than employees have contractually agreed to?

That raises an important leadership reflection:

What kind of system are we building, and how well does it support the people within it?

Beyond charts, matrices, or RACI models, building a truly functional organization might mean:

• Setting and aligning goals with S.M.A.R.T.-ness—and revisiting them regularly

• Putting top executives at the front of workflows that truly matter

• Creating navigable structures plus resources— not just on paper, but in practice

• Managing the weave between formal procedures and informal workarounds

• Knowing when to mediate tensions and when to offer clarity through decisions

That’s already a lot we ask of our leaders. Do they also need to act as motivational or transformational gurus? Sure, one can try to intrinsically motivate people - but not as a way to “fix” employees so they can survive chronic dysfunction.

Ultimately, businesses exist to generate profit.

When leaders provide clarity on goals, processes, and organizational structure — and coaching can help — they not only advance the company’s main objectives but also help employees fully embrace their functional roles within the organization.

At the same time, this clarity shapes how much of our holistic selves we should realistically bring to work. Let’s recognize that opinions, beliefs, identities, dreams—or egos—may sometimes clash with function-focused needs. That doesn’t make them less important. Yet, spaces for personal self-actualization, however valuable this is, are rarely part of a job description or required by one’s function.

And how can we design spaces where both organizational function and individual well-being are respected—even when they don’t perfectly align?

Perhaps it’s time to move the conversation:

From firefighting and heroics → to intelligent design

From “how do we get people to perform better?” → to “how do we build systems that support performance sustainably?”

What would that look like in your organization?

👉 Systems that support clarity, communication, conflict mediation, and connection

👉 Structures that reduce confusion and blame

👉 Teams that don’t have to be superheroes to succeed

And when people no longer need to carry the system on their backs, they may have more energy for what truly matters—both at work and beyond. 

What’s worked in your organization to shift from individual over-functioning to systemic clarity? Let’s explore and learn from each other.

#Leadership #OrganizationalDesign #Coaching #SystemThinking #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeExperience #ChangeManagement #HRLeadership #BusinessStrategy #hrviavalue.com