What Flattened Organizations Risk Losing
Arvind | Leadership with some Lavazza

1. A role can go. Useful work remains.
Coaching
Decisions
Context
Give that work an owner, authority, and time.

Removing a management role can eliminate unnecessary reviews. Useful coaching, decisions, and context still need an owner with the authority and time to carry the work.
https://blog.rvnd.me/leadership/what-flattened-organizations-risk-losing#some-management-work-should-disappear

2. Fewer layers don't settle who decides.
Team
Director
Agreed limits
Agree decision limits during planning. Revisit them when decisions stall.

At the planning meeting where scope and dates are agreed, record which choices the engineer can make, which need the director, when answers are needed, and where to escalate. If a decision stalls or is overturned, the director should agree a correction with both teams and update the same work item.
https://blog.rvnd.me/leadership/what-flattened-organizations-risk-losing#who-gets-to-decide-now

3. Give an engineer a chance to lead.
Next deadline
Design review
Ask what someone wants to learn, and who can help.

An engineer may finish assigned tasks without getting a supported chance to lead a design review. In a one-to-one, ask what they want to learn next and who has time to help.
https://blog.rvnd.me/leadership/what-flattened-organizations-risk-losing#look-for-missing-support-as-well-as-delays

4. Directors need to manage upward.
Scope
Support
Dates
Take a recommendation to the person who can change the commitment.

When a choice exceeds the director’s authority, the director should bring a consequence and recommendation to their own leadership. Discuss scope, support, or dates, and keep coaching capacity in the conversation.
https://blog.rvnd.me/leadership/what-flattened-organizations-risk-losing#take-the-tradeoff-to-your-own-leadership

5. Make room in the next plan.
This week
Next week
Coordination
Feature work
Illustrative plan
At your next planning meeting: who owns the work, what can they decide, and what makes room?

At your next planning meeting or one-to-one, choose one responsibility that has moved or lost its owner. Agree who will do it, what they can decide, and what changes in the plan to make room. Check the adjustment at the next meeting. Recurring coordination or mentoring needs time in future plans; the diagram is illustrative, not a measured allocation.
https://blog.rvnd.me/leadership/what-flattened-organizations-risk-losing#make-room-for-the-leadership-work-that-remains