Who Owns the Operating Model? And Who Guards It?

“Every organisation has an operating model. The question is: is it designed – or has it just happened?”

An operating model describes how your organisation works as a system: the structures, processes, technology, people, and governance that together deliver value. Designing and maintaining such a model isn’t a one-off exercise – it’s a living design that evolves with your strategy.

But who’s responsible for keeping this model coherent, relevant, and alive? Let’s break it down.

Different roles, different responsibilities

Each building block of the operating model has its natural owners:

• HR and Business Leadership (shared) own the Organisation view.

  • HR focuses on the line organisation: roles, job families, reporting structures, leadership development, compliance.

  • Business Leadership focuses on the network organisation: value streams, teams, cross-functional structures, and how to organise for flow.

  • Together, they shape stability and adaptability, and must keep both views in sync.

• Business leadership (COO, process owners) own the Process view – how work flows and value is delivered.

• CIO/IT leadership own Systems & Technology.

• Strategy Office shapes Performance & Metrics.

• Risk & Legal safeguard Governance & Policies.

These leaders are responsible and accountable for their building blocks. But left on their own, the result is often fragmentation: processes drift away from systems, line and network structures clash, and governance slows everything down.

Enter the Enterprise Architect

The Enterprise Architect (EA) doesn’t own all these building blocks. Instead, the EA is the custodian of coherence.

• They integrate the line and network perspectives into one organisation view.

• They connect dots across processes, systems, people, metrics, and governance.

• They ensure changes in one block don’t break another.

• They maintain the holistic view of the operating model as a system.

Think of the EA as the one holding the map of the enterprise — while others hold pieces of the terrain.

The Design Authority: rules of the game

Of course, a single architect cannot safeguard the whole model alone. This is where the EA comes in.

The Design Authority is a governance forum where the Enterprise Architect works together with the business and functional leaders. Its purpose is not to slow things down, but to:

• Apply agreed guiding principles.

• Ensure proposals and changes are consistent with the operating model.

• Balance local flexibility with enterprise-wide coherence.

In short: business and HR leaders own the content, the Enterprise Architect owns the coherence, and the Design Authority owns the rules of the game.

Why it matters

When roles and responsibilities around the operating model are unclear, organisations end up with:

• Endless debates about “who decides what.”

• Siloed processes and systems that don’t fit together.

• A model that looks great on paper but doesn’t survive first contact with reality.

When clarity exists, the operating model becomes a living compass:

• HR and Business Leadership align line and network structures.

• Functional leaders make confident design choices for their building blocks.

• The Enterprise Architect integrates and safeguards the whole.

• The Design Authority keeps everyone aligned to principles.

Final thought:

An operating model is not a PowerPoint or a one-off project. It’s the blueprint of your organisation as a system. To keep it alive, you need owners, a custodian, and a referee. That’s the balance between business leaders, HR, the enterprise architect, and the design authority.

“Good operating models don’t happen by accident – they are designed, guarded, and evolved.”

We always welcome your experiences and feedback.