Who owns what: people, teams or agents with how to reach them and their scope.
1 org chart example
Startup team structure
Who owns what in a thirty-person company, from the front door down to specialists.
An org chart answers who does what, not just who reports to whom. Each node carries a name, how to reach it and a two-word scope. The dashed node is a gap that still needs a hire, kept visible on purpose.
An org chart, or organizational chart, shows how a team or company is structured: who reports to whom, which teams exist and what each person or unit owns. It is a tree with the leader at the top and reporting lines running down.
Read it top down. Each box is a role, a person or, increasingly, an AI agent, and each line is a reporting or ownership relationship. Boxes on the same level share a manager.
When to use an org chart
Use it to onboard new hires so they know who owns what and whom to ask.
Use it when planning a reorganization or hiring plan, to see spans of control and open roles side by side.
If you need to show how work moves between teams rather than who reports to whom, use a swimlane or process map instead.
How to make a good org chart
Put the role first and the name second, since names change more often than roles.
Add one line of scope or a contact channel per box so the chart answers "who do I ask about this".
Mark open positions and dotted-line reports distinctly, for example with a dashed outline.
For large organizations, draw one chart per department rather than squeezing everyone onto one page.
