Designing Organizations That Breathe: How Structure Shapes Culture, Leadership, and Impact - A Conversation with Salima Hemani

In today's environment, clarity isn't a luxury—it's a multiplier that unlocks every dollar you've invested in your people. -Salima Hemani 

Here's the truth most leaders don't realize: You're already shaping your organization's culture and performance every single day—whether you know it or not. 

Every leader needs some understanding of organizational design's impact. Not to become an OD expert or efficiency consultant, but because aligning structure with culture and creating environments where people do their best work is fundamentally your responsibility. When budgets tighten, teams feel stuck, and your best people start leaving despite world-class training programs, the problem often isn't your strategy or your talent—it's the invisible architecture determining how work actually gets done. 

 In this conversation, Salima Hamani reveals why 75-80% of organizational redesigns fail (hint: it's not about the org chart), and more importantly, how leaders at every level can create the clarity that becomes their organization's greatest competitive advantage.  

In this episode, Salima shares: 

• Why great organizational design grows leaders, not just organizes them - How one company created "natural stretch zones" through project-based structure that elevated middle managers without another training program 

• The warning signs your structure is holding back performance - When people have the right skills, clear values, and beautiful org charts but still can't get results, decisions made, or forward momentum 

• Why the org chart is just 10% of organizational design - The critical elements most leaders miss: operating models, governance frameworks, decision rights, and how information actually flows 

• How to measure the ROI of clarity - One government agency dropped project delays by 70% simply by clarifying decision pathways and governance (not just redrawing boxes) 

• The questions leaders need to ask before any redesign - Why spending time on strategic clarity upfront saves months of frustrated implementation later 

 

The bottom line: You don't need to become an organizational design expert, but you do need to understand that structure either amplifies or constrains everything else you're trying to achieve. The best training programs, the most talented people, and the clearest strategy all fall flat without the structural clarity that lets people actually use them. Organizational design isn't something to delegate and forget—it's the scaffolding that determines whether your leaders can truly lead, whether your investments in people pay off, and whether your organization can breathe and grow rather than suffocate under its own weight. 

 

About Salima:

Salima Hemani, MBA, PCC, SHRM-SCP,  is an accomplished organizational strategist, executive coach, and human capital advisor with over 25 years of experience leading large-scale transformation, organizational design, and leadership alignment initiatives. She is the Founder and President of SZH Consulting, an organizational and leadership development firm serving Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and mission-driven organizations. 

  Salima brings a rare blend of strategic insight and operational depth, having served as both an internal executive and external consultant guiding C-suite teams through growth, restructuring, and culture evolution. Her expertise spans strategy execution, organizational design, leadership development, and executive team coaching - anchored in systems thinking, data-driven insights, and a people-first approach. 

A trusted thought partner to CHROs and senior leaders, Salima is known for her ability to turn complexity into clarity and create space for bold, actionable dialogue. She frequently speaks on topics including leading through change and building organizations that thrive. 

Connect with Salima: https://www.linkedin.com/company/szh-consulting-llc/

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Tom & Adrienne