Management and Organizational Design

Martin Snyder / @MartinSnyder / Pinnacle 21 by Certara

Part 1 - Management

  • Setting Expectations
  • Giving & Soliciting Feedback
  • Communication

Types of Expectations

  • Behaviors - Expectations for Everyone
  • Seniority - Expectations Calibrated on Experience
  • Tenure - Expectations Based on Time of Service

Core Values

  • Small list of personal behaviors or attributes considered essential for all members of a team

Culture

  • Shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate

Structure of Goals

  • Outcome Based
  • Metric Based
  • Observation Based

OKR - Objectives & Key Results

  • Aspirational Objective
  • Clear Measures for Results
  • Best for Employees with Authority/Autonomy

KPI - Key Performance Indicators

  • Focused on Work Output
  • Harder to align with desired outcomes
  • Best for Employees with Highly Constrained Roles

Goals

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Time-Bound

Feedback

  • Giving Feedback
  • Recieving/Soliciting Feedback
  • Acknowledging Feedback
  • Acting on Feedback

Communicaton

  • Getting in Front of a Message
  • Sharing the Plan
  • Cascading Communications
  • 1:1s

Part 2 - Organization

  • Career Ladders
  • Departments
  • Recruitment

Career Ladder Tasks & Duties

  • Job Functions
  • Seniority/Levels
  • Specialization
  • Titles

Example Job Functions

  • Accounting
  • Creative Design
  • Product Management
  • Sales
  • Software Engineering

Common Career Progression

  • Entry Level
  • Intermediate / Transitonal
  • Senior
  • Management | Outcomes | Technial

Specialization

  • Early career
  • Later career
  • Department-specific

Management Roles

  • Manager - Contributors of a Single Job Function
  • Director - Heterogeneus Reports and Outcome Responsibility
  • Executive - Financial Responsibility and Abstract Problem Solving

Titles

  • Cross-product of job functions x levels
  • Set performance expectations
  • Define scope of responsibility

Departments

  • Aligned by job functions
  • Aligned by goals / prioritization
  • Aligned by outputs / outcomes

Staffing

  • Design Organization First
  • Set Roles/Titles Based on Fair Expectations
  • Leave Roles Vacant if Possible
  • Designate "Acting" Titles to Highlight Temporary Solutions

Recruitment

  • Early Career vs. Established
  • Sales vs. Evaluation
  • Candidate Experience

Easiest to Hire for...

  • Work Already Being Done
  • Healthy Teams with Ability to Train/Onboard
  • Industry-Standard Roles

Hardest to Hire for...

  • New Capabiities/Job Functions
  • Overtaxed/Struggling Teams
  • Niche/Hybrid Roles

Additional Notes

  • Evaluating Cnadidates with Superior Knowledge/Experience
  • Replacing a Long-Tenuted Team Member
  • Founder/Leadership pattern - Stabalize then Divest

Links

Thank You!

Martin Snyder / @MartinSnyder / Pinnacle 21 by Certara