02 Sep Staying Connected to the Core

Henry Mintzberg famously drew organisations with three distinct zones: the operating core, the analysts, and the support services. His sketch captures something we still wrestle with today: the separation between those who deliver the work and those who analyse or support it.

The challenge is simple to describe but difficult to solve: how do analysts and support services stay connected to the needs and values of the operating core? We routinely encounter this in our work as Organisational Design and Development advisors.

Reporting lines, dotted lines, and matrix structures have been introduced as fixes. Yet reporting is not the same as following, and compliance is not the same as connection. What gets missed is the role of both leadership and followership in bridging the gap.

HR has the notion of the Business Partner. But what’s the equivalent in IT? In Finance? In Marketing? Are these roles truly connecting to the core, or do they risk becoming another layer of distance?

For HR, L&D, and OD professionals, this is more than a structural question. It’s about relevance, influence, and impact. Without connection, “support” functions risk drifting into process for its own sake. With connection, they become strategic levers for performance and health.

So here’s our question: What’s working in your organisation to connect analysts and support services to the operating core? Do “business partner” roles help? Or do we need a new language and practice of leadership to close the gap?