In the fast-moving world of modern leadership, we often focus on the visible aspects of performance: strategy decks, KPIs, tech stacks, and business outcomes. But beneath the surface lies a foundational truth many leaders tend to overlook: Job design and organisational structure shape everything. They are the architecture behind engagement, innovation, and results.
Consider this: You wouldn’t build a high-performing sports team without clear positions, roles, and a strategy for how players work together. Yet in many organizations, roles evolve without intention, structure shifts without strategy, and people are left unclear on how they fit in. The result? Frustration, duplication, disengagement, and underperformance.
Great leaders know that how work is designed is just as critical as what work is done. That’s where thoughtful job design and effective org structure come in.
Structure Should Serve Strategy
Organisational structure isn’t just about boxes on a chart; it’s about aligning your people and resources to deliver on your strategic intent. A well-designed structure helps leaders allocate responsibilities, reduce friction, and empower teams to act with autonomy and purpose.
Just as architects use blueprints to guide construction, effective leaders use organisational design principles to support their business model, culture, and growth priorities. A misaligned structure or poorly defined roles, on the other hand, can create a “trust tax”—an unintended drain on energy, communication, and productivity.
A Harvard Business Review study on organisational performance notes that companies with effective structures and clear job descriptions outperform peers in both innovation and employee satisfaction. The structure provides clarity; the job design provides meaning.
The Core of Job Design: Motivation in the Details
Drawing from the Job Characteristics Model (JCM), thoughtful job design focuses on five key dimensions:
- Skill variety
- Task identity
- Task significance
- Autonomy
- Feedback
Together, these factors create what psychologists call the Motivating Potential Score (MPS).
When jobs are high on these dimensions, employees experience a deeper sense of ownership, accomplishment, and autonomy. This drives employee engagement, reduces burnout, and improves retention.
Take, for example, a customer service representative who is only allowed to follow scripts and escalate all exceptions. Compare that to a rep empowered to solve issues, offer tailored solutions, and make decisions within set boundaries. One is executing tasks; the other is owning outcomes.
Actionable Shifts: Designing with Intention
Here are three strategic shifts every modern leader can make:
1. Move from Tasks to Outcomes
Stop defining jobs by a list of duties. Instead, design roles around outcomes and contribution to strategic goals. Ask: What impact should this role have? How does it align with our broader organisational goals?
Use the SMART model to define performance measures clearly, and ensure team members know how their success will be evaluated—not just by tasks completed but by value delivered.
2. Use the Right Design Tools
There’s no one-size-fits-all structure. The right design depends on organisational factors, such as your business model, external environment, and team maturity. Whether using a team-based job design, caseload work design, or cross-functional pods, let your operating model and strategic direction inform your choices.
Apply PESTLE analysis and gap analysis to review current structures and inform your organisational design process.
3. Integrate Job Redesign into Org Development
Don’t wait for restructuring to revisit job design. Make it part of your ongoing organisational development. Use performance evaluations and employee feedback to refine roles regularly. Offer development opportunities and job enrichment options to improve retention and career growth.
Examples:
- Job enlargement: Add variety by increasing the scope of a role.
- Job rotation: Provide new perspectives and skill development.
- Job enrichment: Empower employees with decision-making authority.
These are not just HR practices—they are leadership strategies that directly impact employee well-being, innovation, and team performance.
Real-World Leadership in Action
Let’s take an example of public libraries, we have seen that some libraries have the following structure. The library network has several branches and specialised service areas—ranging from Local Studies, children & youth, programs & partnership and library technology, all placed under the “Technology & Innovation” Coordinator, while all library branches were aligned under the “Library Network” Coordinator. The justification? Like Local Studies or Children & Youth services, Library Technology was considered a function that served all branches and therefore was grouped alongside other shared services.
But in practice, this created tension and inefficiencies. This is considered as hierarchial structure but in reality it functions laterally.
Unlike programs or events, Library Technology is the core infrastructure enabling daily operations— library management systems, digital lending platforms, computer booking, library mobile app, printing and much more. It wasn’t just a shared service; it was the operational backbone. Yet, structurally, it was separated from the very branches it supported. This disconnect led to miscommunication, delays in decision-making, and a lack of accountability in aligning tech priorities with frontline needs.
A more effective design would have positioned Library Technology under the direct purview of the Library Manager, with dotted-line collaboration across branches. This would have elevated its strategic role, ensured better resource allocation, and supported smoother service delivery.
This example shows how organisational design is not just about logic—it’s about alignment. When structure ignores the strategic intent and critical interdependencies of functions, even the best efforts can fall short.
Benefits of Well-Designed Jobs
An effective job design isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about unleashing potential. When roles are crafted with intention, they tap into intrinsic motivation, align with employee strengths, and build ownership. This leads to a positive work environment, better business outcomes, and increased job satisfaction.
Engagement thrives when employees see the meaning in their work. Task significance, variety of skills, and autonomy are core drivers that enhance employee satisfaction. When people feel trusted to make decisions and know how their role contributes to the larger mission, their emotional connection to the organisation deepens.
A well-aligned organisational structure streamlines communication and reduces redundancy. When roles are clear, workflows are smooth, and teams operate with a shared understanding, performance measures improve across the board. Effective job design reduces friction and increases flow.
People don’t just leave jobs—they leave poorly designed ones. When roles lack clarity or challenge, or when the structure impedes growth, even the best talent will disengage. Investing in thoughtful job design, employee training, and opportunities for skill development helps retain top talent and builds long-term loyalty.
Steps for Implementing Job Design Initiatives
1. Assess Current Job Structures
Conduct a review of employee roles, workloads, and alignment with organisational goals. Use surveys, performance evaluations, and manager feedback to identify friction points.
2. Identify Opportunities for Redesign
Look for gaps in task identity, misalignment with business strategy, or unclear responsibility for tasks. Consider if employees are empowered or simply executing.
3. Engage Employees in the Process
Employees know their roles best. Involve them in co-creating design options and surfacing inefficiencies. This fosters a culture of innovation and employee relations built on trust.
4. Evaluate Performance Impact
Track the effect of changes on organisational performance, customer satisfaction, and team morale. Use both quantitative data (output metrics) and qualitative feedback to guide refinement.
Aligning Organisational Design with Job Architecture
A strong job architecture serves as the bridge between organisational design and day-to-day execution. It connects levels of management, design theories, and role clarity across business units. When structure and job design align, leaders can scale growth, adapt to change, and support a resilient, values-based culture.
Design the Work that Builds the Culture
As leaders, it’s not enough to cast vision—we must create the conditions for that vision to come to life. That begins with structure and job design.
Structure drives clarity. Design drives meaning.
What you design determines how your team performs.
Make every role count. Make every structure work. And above all, design with purpose.