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We’re all familiar with the typical single-elimination tournament bracket: 16 becomes eight, which becomes four and then two until only one remains standing--the champion. Now let’s turn the bracket 90 degrees counter-clockwise to produce the typical hierarchical organizational structure--a pyramid with 16 positions at the base (or front line), and one position at the peak (the boss).
You may not have thought about an agency’s structure as a competitive bracket before, but if you’re recruiting bright, ambitious people, surely some (if not all) of them are thinking about one day holding the job of “top dog.” Having 16 go-getters staffing the front line sounds like an ideal situation, but it represents a future dilemma: If only one of them eventually can be top dog, what becomes of the remaining 15? According to the bracket scheme, eight will spend their careers on the front line. Is it likely that any go-getter will be content to stay there for any length of time? Would you?
The Roles Of Organizations
Some agencies pride themselves as being the “proving ground” for staff members that, by design, leave those agencies to lead others, but that strategy may backfire if new hires sign on with the pre-determined aim to bid you adieu after a few years. You become the training ground for competitors, who gladly allow you to spend resources developing their future professionals.