The traditional org chart model is showing its limits as AI changes how work gets done.
In my client work, I’m seeing the early signs of change. AI is quietly exposing the gap between how we structure teams and how customer needs move across them.
AI doesn’t “see” silos. It supports work across marketing, sales, customer success, and product teams at the same time. This is creating new pressures and opportunities for how we think about team design and collaboration.
One team I worked with started by using AI for marketing insights, then expanded its use across sales and customer success to create a more connected customer experience. I’ll share more in Thursday’s newsletter.
While my work often focuses on go-to-market teams, this shift applies to other functions and can scale across the company.
Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report reinforced this shift, describing a future of “work charts” where teams form around jobs that need to be done, not traditional department boundaries.
Ethan Mollick recently shared a real-world example from P&G. Cross-functional teams working with AI experienced what he called a surprising dynamic:
“You stop caring as much about the normal boundaries of your job.”
It’s early, but the signs are already visible in the most forward-thinking teams. We’re moving from expertise silos toward outcome-driven, integrated work teams. The shift is happening in stages, https://lnkd.in/gxd4_W7s
On Thursday I’ll share a deeper look at this emerging model in my newsletter: “AI is Breaking Department Silos: Moving from Org Charts to Work Charts.”
I’ll cover how leading teams are starting to approach this, a practical framework, and steps you can take today to start exploring.
UPDATE (May 15): Here’s the newsletter, https://lnkd.in/gFfjeBTe
(For those interested, I’ll share both the 2025 Work Trend Index Report and Ethan Mollick’s full article link in the comments, https://lnkd.in/e6NVbXnW)
2025 Microsoft Work Trend Index Report: https://assets-c4akfrf5b4d3f4b7.z01.azurefd.net/assets/2025/04/2025WorkTrendIndexAnnualReport_5.1_6813c2d4e2d57.pdf
Article on Harvard Study with P&G Professionals Using AI: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/the-cybernetic-teammate