Back in my management consulting days, one of the first things we’d do with a new client was map out the org chart – who the players were, who the decision-makers were, how the place was wired.
And every time, you’d realize the formal org chart was one thing. The informal org chart was another altogether.
Some of the gap was structural – which functions were considered drivers versus not. Some was old-fashioned politicking. And some was pure competence – the people everyone just knew you went to when something important needed to get done.
It’s an amateur move to look at the formal chart and make decisions based on it. Much of your ability to get things done in an organization is knowing where the influence really sits.
A Learning a Day 