What Would We Build Today? A Question About Structure and Purpose.
Questions Part-5
By Rick Aman onOpening Story
When the Purpose Outgrew the Structure - Peter Drucker
At a recent board retreat, I asked, “What does a degree from our college mean?” The answers varied, transfer to a university, workforce assignment, access, affordability, but the lack of a shared response revealed a deeper challenge. The college’s mission had grown more complex over time, but its internal structure hadn’t caught up. It wasn’t about org charts; it was about systems and roles that no longer matched the promise being made to students.
One board member finally said what others were thinking: “We’re still built for what we were, not what we say we’re here to do.” That moment shifted the conversation. The board realized that before setting bold goals, they had to ask a better question: Are we structured around our purpose today, or just our past? Will tomorrow be like yesterday?
Start with Purpose, Not the Org Chart
In too many planning sessions, the first instinct is structural: move some boxes, create a new role, rename a department. It is common that the first major aspect of a new president is to reorg. It feels productive because the CEO is doing something. But organizational structure without clarity of purpose is just rearranging furniture in a house we haven’t finished designing. True institutional alignment begins by stepping back and asking a more foundational question: What is the transformation we exist to deliver and for whom?
Leaders often find themselves chasing strategy while being held back by outdated systems. Programs expand, services multiply, and new initiatives launch, but the budgeting process, decision-making structure, and accountability systems remain anchored in the past. The result? Momentum without alignment. Activity without coherence. Organizational formation should serve mission, not preserve habit. If a college promises to be student-centered, workforce-connected, and future-ready, then every internal system should reflect that promise. Otherwise, students feel disconnected, and staff carry the weight of misaligned expectations. Before reshaping operations or launching the next initiative, the president, boards and executive teams should ask: What do we promise our students, and what alignment does that promise to require internally? That single question reframes the planning process and helps ensure that structure follows purpose, not the other way around.
Designing Around Mission, Not History
Over the years, I’ve come to see that misalignment is rarely the result of poor intent, it’s usually the result of inherited structure. When strategies stall or progress feels sluggish, it’s not because leaders lack vision or teams lack effort. It’s because we’re still organizing ourselves around the needs of the past. The structure no longer fits the mission we say we’re pursuing.
One of the most underused tools a CEO has is the power of a well-timed question. Strategic questions have the ability to shift the tone of a room, open up space for shared ownership, and invite people into real collaboration. Rather than issuing top-down directives, great leaders ask questions that surface insight and build alignment: Where are our students experiencing friction? Who owns this outcome and are they equipped for success? If we were starting fresh today, what would we do differently? Removing friction should be one of our chief goals given our desire to serve students.
Asking the right questions doesn’t signal indecision, it signals intention. It also models a core leadership principle I’ve learned to trust: clarity before agreement. We often rush to get consensus in a meeting, but if we don’t first clarify the real problem, the purpose, and the desired outcome, agreement is superficial. When teams take the time to gain precision on the mission, on roles, and on how structure supports strategy, then agreement becomes authentic and sustainable. Without clearness, alignment won’t last beyond the room.
A related concept I often return to comes from Stephen Covey: begin with the end in mind. In my work on futuring, I call this the preferred future. What do we want the institution to become in three to five years and who do we need to be today to make that possible? Too often, we try to retrofit our legacy structures into future strategies. But that rarely works. Our institutional framework must reflect where we’re headed, not where we started. I’ve seen institutions live this out. One college brought all student-facing functions advising, financial aid, career services under one collaborative team with shared goals and budget authority (One-Stop). Another reorganized its academic structure around career pathways instead of disciplines. These were not cosmetic changes. They were intentional moves to align with a future-focused mission.
The best structures aren’t just efficient, they’re mission-oriented. They reduce noise. They create shared ownership. And they let teams move with purpose because the structure supports, rather than resists, the strategy. And none of it works without trust. Trust is built when leadership listens before it acts—when questions come before answers, and purpose comes before structure. Purpose without structural alignment leaves good strategy stuck in theory.
Closing Thought
Legacy structures can’t carry tomorrow’s mission. Unless strategy and structure align, even bold visions stall. The institutions that thrive will be those bold enough to rebuild around their purpose. In a time of change, the question that matters most is the one we rarely pause to ask: What would we build today and what kind of structure could allow us to reach our preferred future?
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At Aman and Associates, we mentor CEOs and facilitate board retreats focused on aligning institutional structure with mission-driven purpose. Our futuring and strategic visioning process helps leaders reimagine what their college could become—beyond the limits of legacy systems. We guide conversations that move past the org chart to explore bold redesigns that support the transformation promised to students. If you're ready to lead into the future, we’re ready to partner with you.
Rick Aman, PhD
Aman and Associates
rick@rickaman.com | rickaman.com/articles
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