Team Heiarchy

[Anonymous]

I started a new position about six months ago, switching from one office in my agency to another. The new office is oddly situated, with no hierarchal structure. My team of eight varies in grade from GS 9 to 15, yet we are all viewed as peers on equal footing even though our experience ranges from 2 years to 20. We report to a Division Chief, but she is generally too stressed to manage and seems bothered by "trivial" things like reporting structure.

I am taken aback by the lack of structure and find it chaotic and unnecessarily competitive. In all my past roles, the structure was hierarchal and based on rank/experience, and the more senior employees served as mentors/team leads. I am new and hesitant to recommend structural changes while I acclimate, but I am open to being wrong and that team hierarchy isn't essential.

What has been your experience with team environments, and what has worked best structurally?

[Anonymous]

Lie low. If your concern persists then lateral to a different job.

[Anonymous]

You need to give examples of what’s competitive or chaotic. My office is structured like this and it’s neither of these things.

[Anonymous]

My team doesn’t have a structure. The senior member contribute via experience and knowledge, the juniors contribute via hard work and fresh ideas. Everyone is equal.

[Anonymous]

Why do you need a hierarchy within a team of 8? That's a small group. Do you each have individual duties, responsibilities, and expectations? If so, worry about meeting yours, don't worry about the others.

[Anonymous]

Our small team (8-10 is still small) is totally flat, and everything from entry level (i.e., 4 months out from college) to very experienced (40 yrs experience). I do not see why any organization needs any hierarchy at all with a team that size.

My question is why OP cares so much about it ?

[Anonymous]

Can the GS-9s at least spell correctly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started a new position about six months ago, switching from one office in my agency to another. The new office is oddly situated, with no hierarchal structure. My team of eight varies in grade from GS 9 to 15, yet we are all viewed as peers on equal footing even though our experience ranges from 2 years to 20. We report to a Division Chief, but she is generally too stressed to manage and seems bothered by "trivial" things like reporting structure.

I am taken aback by the lack of structure and find it chaotic and unnecessarily competitive. In all my past roles, the structure was hierarchal and based on rank/experience, and the more senior employees served as mentors/team leads. I am new and hesitant to recommend structural changes while I acclimate, but I am open to being wrong and that team hierarchy isn't essential.

What has been your experience with team environments, and what has worked best structurally?

I don't understand your issue. The team has a flat structure. This often works very well and is very efficient. You haven't identified any issue caused by a flat structure. Instead, it sounds like you wanted to pull rank as a GS14 or 15 to avoid doing work. Jut because you have 20 years experience doesn't mean you can do a task better than someone with 2 years experience.

[Anonymous]

I'm a fed in a flat team of 6 with one supervisor. I'm a 13 and although I've been with org for a while, I know the value of new ideas, fresh looks at processes, and giving lower grades the opportunity to take on challenges that will help build their resume.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started a new position about six months ago, switching from one office in my agency to another. The new office is oddly situated, with no hierarchal structure. My team of eight varies in grade from GS 9 to 15, yet we are all viewed as peers on equal footing even though our experience ranges from 2 years to 20. We report to a Division Chief, but she is generally too stressed to manage and seems bothered by "trivial" things like reporting structure.

I am taken aback by the lack of structure and find it chaotic and unnecessarily competitive. In all my past roles, the structure was hierarchal and based on rank/experience, and the more senior employees served as mentors/team leads. I am new and hesitant to recommend structural changes while I acclimate, but I am open to being wrong and that team hierarchy isn't essential.

What has been your experience with team environments, and what has worked best structurally?

If that's true, the 9s need to request desk audits. Great for the 9s, not so great for the 15s.