Where does your org fit in? Or parts of your org? Or where is there back and forth and movement as you scale?

Overview
John Cutler shares a four-quadrant matrix that helps technical leaders diagnose where their organization sits between guided autonomy and heavy process. The post invites discussion about the challenges of scaling and maintaining balance across different parts of an org.

Key Takeaways

• The matrix visualises four states: guided autonomy, process-heavy, chaotic, and top-down control.
• Teams thrive when they operate in the guided autonomy quadrant, but scaling pressure often pushes them toward process or chaos.
• Leadership intent and competence are critical in maintaining the desired quadrant.
• The framework can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify anti-patterns in an organization.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers and technical leads.
• Product leaders and CTOs.
• Agile coaches and organizational designers.
• Anyone interested in scaling software teams.

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Guided Autonomy matrix (John Cutler)
• Lean/Agile principles (implicit)