Why Kumbaya and trust falls won't work and what's needed to avoid toxic cultures ft. Glenn Bergsma (Evolve Leadership)

In this episode of the Org Design Podcast, Amy Springer talks with Jacob Chase, founder of The Infin, about one of the hardest questions in org design: how do you fairly value what a person actually contributes? Drawing on his background as an investment banker and hedge fund investor — and his experience scaling a 150-person, $30M real estate business — Jacob shares how a single underpaid 'rock star' employee sparked his search for a better way to measure impact. The answer came from an unexpected place: the stock market. Jacob explains how he built an internal 'market' for attributing credit, where every team member's peer feedback aggregates into a live, dynamic picture of contribution. The result is a more credible, less political, and more transparent approach to performance — one that decentralizes accountability, surfaces hidden leadership (and hidden problems), and ultimately connects each person's contribution to fair compensation. 00:00 Welcome & introducing Jacob Chase (The Infin) 00:19 From Wall Street to org design 01:34 Investor vs. operator: why people drive returns 04:10 Transferable skills from Wall Street: thoroughness & rigor 05:29 The underpaid 'rock star' and the problem of measuring contribution 07:07 How a broader impact became visible 08:37 Why the classic HR review model falls short 09:30 Borrowing from stock markets: a market for value 11:26 Decentralizing accountability & removing politics 12:47 Surfacing hidden leadership and underperformance 15:22 Smoothing performance anxiety in an uncertain world 19:42 Connecting contribution to the 'pie' and compensation 21:54 Who brings this to their org (CEO-led) 22:43 Final thoughts: get people the right inputs The Org Design Podcast https://www.functionly.com/org-design-podcasthttps://www.linkedin.com/company/orgdesignpodcast/ Functionly https://www.functionly.com /https://www.linkedin.com/company/functionly/

Rob Zinkan shares how specializing in higher-ed marketing and communications led them into organization design, why “centralize vs decentralize” and “bust silos” are often unhelpful binaries, and how leaders can improve effectiveness by clarifying purpose, strategy, and ways of working. Key themes include influence without authority, integrating across silos, making trade-offs explicit, engaging people through co-creation (not just buy-in), and treating org design as an ongoing leadership discipline—especially amid hybrid work and AI. 00:00 Intro + Rob’s path into org design via higher education 03:54 Why specialize (industry + function) and where it creates value 06:34 Marketing as an enterprise capability aligned to strategy 10:27 Universities, repeatable org units, and strategy tensions (research vs teaching) 11:59 Centralize vs decentralize; silos and horizontal integration mechanisms 15:30 Business model + operating model realities in universities 18:11 Moving from diagnosis to future-state operating reality; engaging people 20:49 When to apply org design principles (any size team; ongoing discipline) 23:11 One leadership skill: ask better questions (and listen) 24:25 Hybrid/AI shifts focus from org charts to operating models 26:17 Accountability, org charts, and codifying ways of working 30:21 Wrap-up The Org Design Podcast https://www.functionly.com/org-design-podcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/orgdesignpodcast/ Functionly https://www.functionly.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/functionly/

In this episode of the Org Design Podcast, host Tim Brewer welcomes Lorena Balestrieri, future chair of the European Organizational Design Forum, to discuss her unconventional career path—from hospitality in Argentina to tech leadership at Booking.com, and her pivot to helping mid‑career professionals reinvent themselves. Lorena shares how she identified gaps in HR and org design, built a niche helping middle managers and women navigate career transitions, and emphasizes the importance of networking, strengths assessment (SWOT), and practical tools like resume building and LinkedIn. She explains org design in simple terms, outlines her mentoring approach, and invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn for personalized support. The conversation highlights the evolving org‑design community, the need for mid‑level talent development, and actionable steps for professionals seeking career reinvention. www.functionly.com

This episode is a practical deep dive into how organisations actually change—not just talk about it. Simon Davies (20+ years in org design across Europe and North America) breaks down why most “transformation” efforts fail, and what leaders should do instead. The core idea: You have two choices when leading change—force compliance or build commitment. Simon argues that while top-down decisions feel faster, they create a long tail of resistance. A collaborative approach may feel slower upfront, but leads to faster, smoother execution because people support what they help create. The conversation explores: Why “buy-in” is a flawed concept How to involve people without losing control What an operating model actually is (in plain English) The real signs your organisation needs redesign How to structure change so it doesn’t become chaos If you’re leading a team or organisation and feeling friction, misalignment, or stalled progress—this episode gives you a practical lens to rethink how change happens. @functionly @orgdesignpodcast www.functionly.com

Most org design work disappears the moment the workshop ends. In this episode, Szilard Strenner explains how visual facilitation turns strategy into something people can actually see, engage with, and remember. Instead of flipping through forgotten slide decks or buried documents, visual facilitation uses large-scale, pre-designed templates and real-time visual recording to help teams think together, align faster, and retain decisions. The key idea: 👉 Great facilitation isn’t about what happens in the room—it’s about what’s designed before it. Szilard shares how: • Visual structures guide thinking and decision-making • Physical interaction (moving cards, filling space) drives engagement • Preparation (not improvisation) is what makes facilitation effective • Strategy can live beyond the workshop as a shared, visual “one-pager” across the business For leaders doing org design, this is a shift from: • Slides → Shared artefacts • Talking → Co-creating • Outputs → Alignment @orgdesignpodcast @functionly https://www.linkedin.com/in/szilard-strenner/ https://grafacity.eu/

In this episode of the Org Design Podcast, I sit down with Ann Greene from Alagi to explore the complexities of organizational design. We dive into the misconception that there is a perfect structure for every organization, discussing why that ideal doesn't exist and how some designs can be detrimental. Ann highlights common symptoms of poor org design, such as slow decision-making and ineffective collaboration, and emphasizes the importance of aligning design with strategy. Through engaging analogies, including one about wardrobe organization, we uncover the creative and structured approach necessary for effective org design. Join us for insights that can help leaders tackle their organizational challenges head-on.

In this episode of the Org Design Podcast, I sit down with Bianca Hill from DecidrAI to explore the critical relationship between workflow design and artificial intelligence. We delve into why blaming the technology for underwhelming AI ROI misses the mark. Bianca shares her insights on how structured intelligence can enhance AI's deterministic responses, especially in environments that demand consistency. We discuss the evolving landscape of work, the importance of understanding workflows, and how organizations can effectively integrate AI without facing resistance from their teams. Join us as we uncover strategies to harness AI's potential while fostering a collaborative environment for the future of work.

Recorded live in Milan at the European Organisation Design Forum, this conversation with Stelio Verzera goes far beyond org charts. Stelio traces his path from aerospace engineering and early internet consulting into 30 years of sociotechnical systems work, and explains why organizations should be treated as living, evolving systems not machines. You’ll hear why he uses serious games and Lego Serious Play to surface what people feel and “don’t know they know” about performance, trust, leadership and strategy and why working with your hands can create breakthroughs that stick for years. Stelio shares the moments that define teams, including when senior leaders unexpectedly find language for what matters and the room changes. He also offers a leader-ready model for change using the metaphor of a river: tools and processes are visible on the surface, but capabilities, culture and people sit deeper and move slower. Ignore the deeper layers and you create change fatigue because the “inertia of the river” will swallow your initiatives. Finally, Stelio looks forward. He argues org design is shifting from mechanistic thinking to organic, adaptive organizing and now toward an ecosystemic view where organizational “boundaries” are mental constructs and leaders’ responsibility extends across partners, families and communities. With AI automating more knowledge work, Stelio believes the future of org design will center even more on relationships, context, and how humans collaborate in a messy world to create value that benefits the whole ecosystem. Functionly www.functionly.com Org Design podcast www.functionly.com/org-design-podcast Cocoon Pro cocoon-pro.com

In the next 18 months, everyone in your organization will become a manager—not of people, but of AI agents. Yet most employees have never designed a role, created a delegation framework, or built performance metrics. This episode reveals why the most critical skill for the AI era isn't coding or prompt engineering—it's organizational design thinking. Drawing on insights from leaders implementing AI at scale, host Amy Springer explores how hybrid human-AI teams are fundamentally restructuring work, why traditional management principles still apply (just faster), and the four principles you need to design effective agent teams. Plus: three concrete actions you can take this week to prepare your organization for this transformation. Key insight: Organizations that win won't have the most advanced AI—they'll have the best organizational design. Functionly.com

n this episode of the Org Design Podcast, recorded live at the Org Design Festival, hosts Tim Brewer and Amy Springer sit down with Shannon Horne, HR leader and transformation specialist, to explore the realities of organizational design inside a global company of 11,000 employees. Shannon shares her journey into org design, the challenges of turning strategy into structure, and why confusion, turnover, and missed ROI often come when org design is treated as an afterthought. She offers practical insights on creating healthier org design cultures—where employees feel secure, leaders are transparent, and talent is repurposed rather than lost. For leaders wondering if they have an org design problem on their hands, Shannon also gives her “friend-to-friend” advice: start with discovery before restructuring, and ask whether the issue is really structure—or something deeper. This episode is packed with real-world transformation lessons and practical tips for executives, HR professionals, and organizational designers who want to avoid chaos and build resilient, people-centered organizations. Shannon Horne https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonhorne/ Functionly https://www.linkedin.com/company/functionly https://www.functionly.com/ Org Design Podcast https://www.linkedin.com/company/orgdesignpodcast https://www.functionly.com/org-design-podcast Organization Design Forum https://organizationdesignforum.org/