Reorganizing your team is a rare opportunity. It can bring renewal… or generate confusion. In a constantly moving environment, our teams need anchor points, stability, and purpose. Here’s how to approach this moment with clarity and responsibility.
Why a Reorganization?
A rare opportunity: reorganizing your team.
And why is it rare? Because in this ever-changing world, we need reference points, relationships, and stability. Major upheavals, as a reorganization could be perceived, erase purpose and can lead to much confusion, and thus distress within your teams. This could have both human and financial impacts on your company.
Observations on Organization
My first observation: no organization is perfect, regardless of its size. I have observed this in both large groups and small SMEs.
The second observation: Each time, a message announces that this new version will be more efficient, and as soon as the next upcoming leader arrives, a new change is proposed. This feeling is more or less present in the various companies I have worked with.
I have experienced many reorganizations in my career. One was imposed by the creation of a subsidiary, with the reasoning behind it completely inaudible, and the choice of people made on a personal basis. I have also seen strong team growth, project endings abruptly, and thus restructuring of what was then my daily life. And I think this is one of the most sensitive points: changing structure means replacing people’s reference points, sometimes their immediate environment, which implies stress, anxiety, sometimes excitement, and if the meaning, the why, is not clear, it becomes difficult to stay engaged and thus to perform.
This partial disengagement, this impact, leaves bruises and has a cost. If it repeats, the bond of loyalty weakens and the risk of departure increases. With hindsight, I now realize the impact some of these reorganizations had on me and how much they influenced my decision to leave.
The Costs and Impacts of a Reorganization
I have myself decided, proposed, even imposed reorganizations in the services and departments I managed. There are good reasons to do it… and superficial ones. Yes, that word may seem strong. For example, you might think you’ll gain efficiency by relying on what you saw in your previous position, which may have been in a different industry. I know this mistake, I’ve made it. Take the time to discover your new environment, its culture, its members. Take the time to understand the relationships between your group and the company. Listen to understand.
A key element I want to share first is that these reorganizations have a significant social and financial cost. Because a change in structure impacts the entire ecosystem:
- It will cost time and money. The transition period involves a loss of efficiency: you have to reestablish all governance.
- And more importantly: teams need stability and support. It takes time to develop cohesion and culture within a group.
So, when it must be done, go ahead, but keep in mind all these costs and impacts on people.
Defining and Executing the Reorganization
First Step: Understanding the Group’s History
The first step, if you still think a reorganization is necessary, is to know the history of the group you manage and to understand the moral debts left by your predecessors. Because very often, leaders change… and employees stay.
- How many structural changes have occurred in the past ten years?
- What were the reasons?
- Was there follow-up with employees to check if the expected benefits materialized?
All these elements will allow you to gauge the level of trust and desire for change in your teams. All these questions will help you understand the company’s moral debt—all those informal commitments made by your predecessors. This point is important if you are doing this reorganization after taking up your position (see article “How to take on your new role”). It will also help you start defining a change management approach, which goes far beyond announcing the new organization.
Clarifying the Purpose of the Change
After this analysis of history, you will need to answer two essential questions:
- Why this change?
- Why now?
Two examples that are easy to explain:
- The happiest: strong growth, the team is growing quickly. To keep reasonable sizes, we had to add new groups. In doing so, we rethought the structure.
- The most painful: after repeated staff reductions, the number of groups also had to be adjusted to reflect the new team size and its reduced missions.
Involving the Team in the Design
- Don’t make this change alone. Take the opportunity, from the design stage, to create a team. For all the people who will report to you, take them with you. Leverage collective intelligence to build the best structure.
- By doing so, not only will your structure be better, but your key players will also be valuable allies in listening and explaining this transformation.
Optimal Team Size and Autonomy
Being a manager means being present. And for that, you need time. I have already had more than 25 direct reports, with additional groups. You can’t fulfill your role in that case. There’s little time for one-on-one meetings, little time to see them in action and advise them. It can work for six months, but not in the long term.
- A good team size is 12 to 15 direct reports, who themselves can manage their teams.
- Your group must be able to operate without you, not just for a day, but for at least three months.
- You must make them autonomous. This way, you can help them develop and connect with the entire company.
- A key element, sometimes forgotten: New structure = new governance. So, with your new management team, define your internal governance, and this will be communicated to all.
Communicating and Living the New Organization
This organization must be clear to everyone. If roles change, appear, or disappear, it must be said, warned, explained. Change requires structure and processes. The communication cascade must be worked on, first speaking to those impacted and then to the entire ecosystem.
Better Managing Human Impacts
Some reorganizations are partial. Others are a complete change. Perhaps some people who previously reported to you will change managers. Invest time to explain why. This can be perceived as a demotion, both by the person concerned and by those around them.
Golden rule: one cannot learn in front of others what will happen to oneself.
So, if someone was previously a group leader and tomorrow is not, not inviting them to meetings on the subject… is announcing the news without saying it. When we talk about communication, there is what we say, and there is our silence or lack of consultation with certain people, which also speaks very clearly.
Connecting Functions and Supporting the Team
You must connect all cross-functional roles. Ideally, you are almost useless in the day to day operation. Your focus could be managing the portfolio, the overall budget, the coherence of the whole, and be a coach for your team.
Your structure must give you this freedom of action: an autonomous, committed team that knows you will support them. You need to help them grow and connect.
Conclusion and Recommendations
To complete this reflection, you can reread the article “Don’t Delegate,” and in this new structure, take the opportunity to directly implement this approach: specify what you must keep under control, and why.
Your new governance in place should not block communication, and all group leaders must be available to understand, learn, and make this reorganization a success. Listen, listen, and listen—these are my three tips for success.
Finally, reorganizing your team is a complex and rare management act. We are not really used to doing it, especially in large organizations. So, use collective intelligence within your company. Seek advice from support functions. Understand how information flows and decisions are made today. Because tomorrow, with the new structure in place, the company must become more efficient.
Not on the first day… but certainly after the first month.
To go further:
Reinventing the Organization with a Focus on Teams
Discover how McKinsey proposes a team-centered approach to sustainably transform organizations. This article explores four practical actions to strengthen collective performance, foster agility, and stimulate innovation. If you want to understand why investing in cross-functional teams leads to real productivity gains, this content is essential reading 👉 Read on McKinsey.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Reorganizations
Many organizations fail because reorganization only addresses structural changes, without supporting the people involved. This Growthspace article highlights four frequent pitfalls and offers five practices to go beyond the org chart and anchor real, lasting change. A key read for any decision-maker seeking an effective reorganization 👉 Read on Growthspace.
Six Concrete Steps to Restructure Effectively
LSA Global shares a six-step method, based on real cases, to guide a thoughtful and successful team restructuring. The article emphasizes the importance of clarifying objectives, involving stakeholders, rethinking roles, and managing resistance. An operational and pragmatic guide for managers wishing to orchestrate structured and human-centered change 👉 Read on LSA Global.
🛠️ Three simple actions to restructure your team (15–20 people)
Understand the team’s history through three questions
What structural changes have occurred over the past 10 years?
What formal or informal commitments were made?
What human impacts were left unresolved?
Create a small co‑design group (3 to 5 people)
Include in your design process an experienced employee, a newcomer, a peer manager, and someone from a transversal function.
Establish a post‑reorganization stabilization ritual
Within 30 days: one team meeting, one individual meeting with each person, and a collective checkpoint to adjust if needed.
👉 These three simple actions strengthen your leadership posture and unlock your potential.
Coaching or Mentoring: Your Choice, Your Growth
I’m Franck Dervault, drawing on years of professional experience and now advancing toward certification as a coach. I offer two distinct paths:
- Coaching to help you unlock your own potential through reflection, presence, and guided discovery.
- Mentoring to share lessons, strategies, and insights from my career so you can navigate challenges with confidence.
Whichever path you choose, my goal is the same: to help you realize that you are wiser than you think, with immense potential waiting to be unlocked.
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