The original version of this graphic was developed for a
strategic planning taskforce on internal communications. It was an attempt to capture the multiple dimensions of relationships within the organization, and thereby discover opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness, capacity and vitality of communications throughout the enterprise.

The major insight is that most organizational communication takes place outside of the sphere of formal accountability (the Hierarchy; no reason for alarm, this is a good thing). While this picture broadens the formal and informal responsibility of key individuals, there are relatively simple structural approaches

At Casey Family Programs, we developed a weekly email update platform (an early content management system) that packaged directives from management (The Hierarchy), milestones from key workgroups (The Taskforce), announcements of staff hires, retirements and sabbaticals (The Neighborhood), as well as Help Desk tips (The Support Line) into a concise format that continually gathered data and could be published and distributed in about 30 minutes.

Perhaps most importantly, this expanded framework can provide a point of reference for individuals to exercise initiative in opening and maintaining the flow of communications for supporting creative, collaborative participation within and between organizations.