Organizational Development

Delegator

VSHN

Role Keepers

  • Jessica Wyrsch

  • Marco Fretz

  • Robin Angst

Coordinator

Marco Fretz

Contact

#orgdev Role Chat

Purpose

Why is this role needed, what organizational need does it address, or how is it relevant within the organization?

In our self-organizing structure with shared responsibility and leadership, VSHNeers often encounter challenges and opportunities they may not be equipped to address alone. External influences and business strategy sometimes call for adaptations beyond individual roles or teams. Without clear enablement and guidance, larger impediments risk overwhelming individuals and slowing our collective agility.

We need to enable VSHNeers to understand and engage with defined responsibilities, structures, and practices. Where responsibilities are unclear, we need to clarify them, prioritize organizational drivers, and ensure they are addressed in a timely manner.

We enable VSHNeers to understand and live their responsibilities, structures, and practices. Where responsibilities are unclear, we support VSHNeers or actively drive clarification. We understand, prioritize and address organizational drivers if they do not fall within already clear responsibilities.
— summary of what we do
This is one of the major roles of VSHN to ensure the function as a business and organization, others are for example Product Manager, Finance (Overview and Governance) and People (Overview and Governance). This replaces the need for top or central "classic management".

Key Responsibilities

List the essential responsibilities assigned to this role.

  • Clarify, prioritize, and ensure that cross-company level organizational drivers are addressed

  • Ownership of organizational drivers where responsibilities are unclear

  • Enable VSHNeers to address their organizational drivers

  • Ensure documentation and education of our overall structures and practices

  • Lead by example according to our values, principles and practices.

  • Represent work culture aspects in relevant Governance

  • External transparent presentation of VSHN’s organization (not business)

Stakeholders and Key Deliverables

Whom does this role deliver value to, and what do they need from this role?

Teams and Roles at VSHN

  • Defined go-to persons and a contact channel to challenge, discuss, and refine organizational issues and navigate support

  • Prioritized overview of organizational drivers and their status

  • Coaching for teams and individual VSHNeers

  • Facilitation "as a service" for inter-team and cross-company topics

  • Up-to-date overview documentation of our ways of working, structures, and practices

  • Educational support in various formats

VSHN as a Business

  • Representation of VSHN as Delegator of the major domains of VSHN, limited to the "how VSHN is organized, how VSHN works."

  • Employer marketing (sharing at events) and visibility (transparent handbook, presentations, blog posts, etc.)

Community

  • Showcasing VSHN as a pioneer in a fully self-organized IT company.

Skills and Mindsets

What Skills and Mindsets are needed to fit this role?

Attitude

  • I don’t solve your problem — You are responsible; I support you with approaches and guidance.

  • The absence of my solution is not the problem — I introduce concepts, patterns, and practices where a need is recognized.

  • Curiosity — There is always more to learn, so let’s just do it and learn together.

General

  • Strong skills in writing structured documentation

  • Sociocracy 3.0 Practitioner Level 1 or higher

  • Solid understanding of Agile and Scrum

  • Approachability (being reachable in-office, remotely, or at events), open-mindedness, and collaborative spirit

Constraints

  • When others are responsible, we don’t do their job or drive topics for them – we enable them to do it.

  • No education or coaching on technical or role-specific topics – Our focus is on VSHN’s ways of working, structures, and practices.

  • Facilitation or taking ownership within defined teams or roles – instead, we support them in doing it themselves.

  • We are not a “problem” dump, grievance, or improvement suggestion box – if you see an issue, talk to us, and we’ll understand and challenge it together. The solution starts with you.

Role Assignment

The intention is that this role is held by people who work on the ways of working of teams and roles and can ideally represent their needs.

Evaluation

  • Peer review twice a year with stakeholders.