# Organizational Chart Template

**Businessman Talk · Strategy section · Version 1.0 · 2026-09-01**
Companion to `/strategy/organizational-chart/` (node C-194). One row per role, up to 25 roles. Paste into Google Sheets, Excel, or a Docs table; the tree drawing can be generated from the "Reports to" column by any chart tool, or drawn by hand from it.

**How to use it.** Fill the roles first and the names last. A role is a box on the chart; a person is whoever holds the box this quarter. Every row needs a reports-to entry (the managing role writes "none"), at least one decision it owns, and a backup who can hold the box for a week. A row with nothing in "Decisions owned" is a job title, not a role, and the work should be folded into another row.

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**Business:** ________________________   **Chart date:** ____ / ____ / ________   **Chart owner (the role that keeps it current):** ________________

**Headcount on this chart:** ________   **Vacant roles:** ________   **Next review (date or trigger):** ________________

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## 1. The chart, as a table

| # | Role | Reports to | Decisions owned (what this role can decide without asking) | Backup (who holds the box when the holder is away) | Held by (name, or VACANT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | none | | | |
| 2 | | | | | |
| 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | | | | | |
| 5 | | | | | |
| 6 | | | | | |
| 7 | | | | | |
| 8 | | | | | |
| 9 | | | | | |
| 10 | | | | | |
| 11 | | | | | |
| 12 | | | | | |
| 13 | | | | | |
| 14 | | | | | |
| 15 | | | | | |
| 16 | | | | | |
| 17 | | | | | |
| 18 | | | | | |
| 19 | | | | | |
| 20 | | | | | |
| 21 | | | | | |
| 22 | | | | | |
| 23 | | | | | |
| 24 | | | | | |
| 25 | | | | | |

*Filling rules: one reports-to entry per row, never two. A decision appears in exactly one row. If two rows claim the same decision, the chart has found a dispute that the business has been settling by argument.*

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## 2. Span check

| Manager role | Number of direct reports | Kind of work managed (routine and alike / varied and needs coaching) | Within a workable span? (yes / no, and what changes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

*A rule of thumb, not a law: fewer direct reports where each one needs regular coaching or the jobs differ from each other; more where the work is routine and the same from person to person. A manager who is the bottleneck for approvals has too many; a layer of managers with two reports each has too few.*

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## 3. Change log

| Date | What changed (role added, removed, moved, or decision reassigned) | Changed by |
|---|---|---|
| | | |
| | | |

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## 4. Filled example: a 25-person commercial cleaning company (fictional)

Brightside Commercial Cleaning cleans offices and clinics on evening contracts. Three layers: the managing director, three department heads, and the teams. Names are left out on purpose; the chart is of roles.

| # | Role | Reports to | Decisions owned | Backup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Managing director | none | Prices and contract terms; hiring and removal of department heads; any spend above 5,000; new service lines | Operations manager |
| 2 | Operations manager | Managing director | Crew rosters; supplier of consumables; supervisor hiring; a client complaint that needs a site revisit | Managing director |
| 3 | Sales and accounts manager | Managing director | Which leads to quote; discounts up to 5% on list; renewal terms within the price list | Managing director |
| 4 | Finance and admin manager | Managing director | Payment runs; credit terms for new clients up to 30 days; office purchasing under 1,000 | Managing director |
| 5 | Site supervisor, north | Operations manager | Nightly task order on their sites; swapping cleaners between their sites; signing off a site as complete | Site supervisor, central |
| 6 | Site supervisor, central | Operations manager | Same as row 5 for the central sites | Site supervisor, south |
| 7 | Site supervisor, south | Operations manager | Same as row 5 for the south sites | Site supervisor, north |
| 8 | Quality and training lead | Operations manager | Whether a new cleaner passes induction; the inspection checklist; ordering PPE | Operations manager |
| 9 | Cleaner, north 1 | Site supervisor, north | Order of tasks within the site checklist | Cleaner, north 2 |
| 10 | Cleaner, north 2 | Site supervisor, north | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, north 3 |
| 11 | Cleaner, north 3 | Site supervisor, north | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, north 4 |
| 12 | Cleaner, north 4 | Site supervisor, north | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, north 1 |
| 13 | Cleaner, central 1 | Site supervisor, central | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, central 2 |
| 14 | Cleaner, central 2 | Site supervisor, central | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, central 3 |
| 15 | Cleaner, central 3 | Site supervisor, central | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, central 4 |
| 16 | Cleaner, central 4 | Site supervisor, central | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, central 1 |
| 17 | Cleaner, south 1 | Site supervisor, south | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, south 2 |
| 18 | Cleaner, south 2 | Site supervisor, south | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, south 3 |
| 19 | Cleaner, south 3 | Site supervisor, south | Same as row 9 | Cleaner, south 1 |
| 20 | Account executive | Sales and accounts manager | Meeting times with clients; which add-on services to offer within the price list | Sales and accounts manager |
| 21 | Estimator | Sales and accounts manager | Hours and consumables assumed in a quote (the price itself goes to row 3) | Sales and accounts manager |
| 22 | Bookkeeper | Finance and admin manager | Coding of transactions; chasing invoices under 60 days overdue | Finance and admin manager |
| 23 | Scheduler | Finance and admin manager | Which crew covers a one-off booking; shift-swap approvals | Operations manager |
| 24 | Admin assistant | Finance and admin manager | Office supplies under 200; filing of client contracts | Scheduler |
| 25 | Stores and purchasing | Finance and admin manager | Reorder points for consumables; accepting or rejecting a delivery | Quality and training lead |

**Span check for the example.** Managing director: 3 direct reports. Operations manager: 4. Sales and accounts manager: 2. Finance and admin manager: 4. Site supervisors: 4, 4, and 3. Nobody manages more than four, and the three supervisors work on site with the people they manage, so the span leaves room to add a fourth site team under a new supervisor before the operations manager's own span needs revisiting.

**What the example shows.** Pricing sits in one box (row 1) and quoting hours in another (row 21), so an estimator can build a quote without setting the price. Spend limits step down the chart: 5,000 at the top, 1,000 at the finance manager, 200 at the admin assistant. Every backup is a named role, and no backup is more than one layer away from the box it covers.

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*Businessman Talk publishes this template for general use. Adapt the columns to your business; the only rule worth keeping is one decision, one row.*