Understanding Teams and Tables

Teams and Tables are how JustOrg Design organizes people around the work that actually needs to happen. Instead of forcing your strategic work into traditional department boxes, Teams and Tables let you design a structure that matches how collaboration really works in your organization.

What Are Teams and Tables?

Teams are your functional groups—people who share similar expertise or responsibilities. Think: Communications Team, Programs Team, Development Team, People & Culture Team.

Tables are your cross-functional groups—people from different areas working together on strategic work that spans departments. Think: Campaign Table, Equity Table, Policy Table.

Both can have sub-groups when your work requires it. Your Communications Team might have sub-teams for digital, media relations, and internal communications. Your Campaign Table might have working groups focused on specific tactics or regions. The structure flexes to match your actual work.

Why JOD Uses Teams and Tables

The Problem They Solve

Your work doesn't fit neatly into departments. A campaign needs communications, programs, development, and policy all working together. But traditional org charts show siloed departments where collaboration happens despite the structure, not because of it.

People end up in endless meetings trying to coordinate across departments. Or worse, they duplicate efforts because they don't know what other departments are doing. The structure that's supposed to help organize work is actually making it harder.

How Teams & Tables Help

Teams and Tables solve this by creating intentional spaces for both kinds of work:

Teams give people a home base where they develop expertise, share practices, and handle the ongoing functional work of the organization.

Tables bring together everyone needed to accomplish complex strategic work—without fighting the org chart to make it happen.

Example:

When you create a Table for your advocacy campaign, everyone who needs to be involved is right there: the communications person crafting messages, the organizer mobilizing supporters, the policy analyst tracking legislation, the development officer stewarding donors. They're not fighting the org chart to collaborate—the structure brings them together with intention.

How Teams Work

Teams are functional groups organized around shared expertise or responsibility.

Characteristics of Teams:

• Members typically share similar skills or functional area (communications, programs, development)
• They handle ongoing operational work in their area
• They develop and maintain expertise
• They often exist as long as the organization needs that function
• Members may be full-time dedicated to this work

Examples:

• Communications Team - Manages all organizational communications, media relations, and messaging
• Programs Team - Designs and implements program strategy and delivery
• People & Culture Team - Handles HR, professional development, and organizational culture

Teams can have sub-groups when the work requires more specificity. A Programs Team might have sub-teams for different program areas or regions.

How Tables Work

Tables are cross-functional groups organized around strategic outcomes that require multiple areas of expertise.

Characteristics of Tables:

• Members come from different functional areas (communications, organizing, policy, development)
• They tackle specific strategic initiatives or ongoing cross-functional responsibilities
• They coordinate complex work that no single department can accomplish alone
• They may be permanent (like an Equity Table) or time-bound (like a Campaign Table)
• Members typically participate alongside their other work

Examples:

• Campaign Table - Coordinates all aspects of an advocacy campaign across communications, organizing, policy, and fundraising
• Equity Table - Advances equity strategy across all organizational work, bringing together people from different departments to ensure equity is integrated into everything from hiring to program design to policy positions
• Policy Table - Brings together research, organizing, communications, and legal expertise to advance policy change

Tables create the space for strategic coordination that traditional org charts make difficult.

How They Work Together

This approach honors that people wear multiple hats and contribute to different kinds of work.

Example:

Maria sits on her Communications Team (her functional home) and also participates in two Tables—the Campaign Table and the Equity Table.

On her Communications Team, she develops messaging expertise, collaborates with communications colleagues, and handles ongoing media relations work.

On the Campaign Table, she brings her communications expertise to coordinate with organizers, policy staff, and development colleagues to execute the campaign strategy.

On the Equity Table, she helps integrate equity practices into organizational communications alongside colleagues from other departments doing the same in their areas.

She can see all her work in one place while leadership can see exactly who's responsible for what across the organization. No confusion about roles. No duplication of effort. Just clear structure that supports collaboration instead of fighting it.

Understanding Purpose and Scope

Every Team and Table in JOD has two foundational elements that create clarity: Purpose and Scope.

Purpose is WHY your group exists—the outcome you're trying to achieve together.

Scope is WHAT you deliver and what decisions you can make to achieve that purpose.

Together, they help everyone understand what the group is trying to accomplish and how they're empowered to make it happen. See: View Your Groups Purpose and Scope

Your Group's Purpose

Every Team and Table has a purpose statement that explains why the group exists and what it's trying to accomplish.

Purpose statements in JOD always start with: "The purpose of this [Team/Table] is to..."

What Purpose Does:

Purpose gives your group direction and shared understanding. It answers:

• Why does this group exist?
• What are we trying to accomplish together?
• How does our work contribute to the organization's mission?

When everyone on the group understands the purpose, they can make better decisions about what work to prioritize, who to involve, and how to move forward.

Examples of Clear Purpose Statements:

Resource Development Table:

"The purpose of this Table is to identify, develop, and sustain funding relationships that resource our core strategies."

Communications Team:

"The purpose of this Team is to develop and implement communications strategy that builds public awareness and support for our work."

Equity Table:

"The purpose of this Table is to advance equity across all organizational practices, ensuring equity is integrated into everything from hiring to program design to policy positions."

Campaign Table:

"The purpose of this Table is to design and execute coordinated campaign strategy that advances our housing justice policy goals."

Why Purpose Matters:

Clear purpose keeps work focused. When your group knows what it's trying to accomplish, you don't waste time on work that doesn't serve that purpose.

Clear purpose enables alignment. Everyone on the group can evaluate their contributions by asking: "Does this serve our purpose?"

Clear purpose improves decision-making. When you're choosing between options, purpose helps you decide: "Which option better serves what we're trying to accomplish?"

Viewing Your Group's Purpose:

Your Group's Scope

Scope defines what your group is responsible for delivering and what decisions they can make to achieve the group's purpose.

While Purpose tells you WHY your group exists, Scope tells you WHAT you're responsible for and WHERE your authority begins and ends.

What Scope Does

Scope helps everyone understand:

• What should this group deliver? (their core responsibilities)
• What choices can they make without asking permission? (what they decide)
• What should they recommend to others instead of deciding themselves? (what they recommend)
• What decisions explicitly belong to someone else? (what they do NOT decide)

Think of it like job responsibilities, but for the whole group. It answers the question: "What work belongs to us, and what belongs to someone else?"

How Scope Is Structured in JOD

In JOD, scope is organized into Delivers — the key responsibilities or outputs of your group. Under each "Delivers," you can specify:

• Decides - What this group can decide without seeking approval
• Recommends - What this group should recommend to leadership or other groups instead of deciding themselves
• Does Not Decide - What this group explicitly does NOT decide (someone else has this authority)

Why nest decision rights under Delivers?

This structure serves two crucial purposes:

First, it makes assigning decision rights easier. When you're defining scope, you can ask: "What decision rights does this group need to adequately deliver this responsibility?" The Delivers provides the context that makes the answer clear. It's much easier to decide who should set messaging strategy when you're looking at "Delivers: Organization-wide communications strategy" than when you're looking at a disconnected list of decisions.

Second, it removes ambiguity. When a decision right is tightly coupled with what the group delivers, there's no confusion about what that decision actually means or when it applies. "Decides: Messaging" could mean a lot of things on its own. But "Delivers: Organization-wide communications strategy → Decides: Messaging" is crystal clear—this is about organizational messaging, not program-specific messaging or campaign-specific messaging. The Delivers provides the boundaries.

This nested structure makes it clear not just WHAT your group is responsible for, but also WHERE your decision-making authority begins and ends—and where it explicitly does NOT extend.

Example of Clear Scope

Resource Development Table:

Delivers: Strong systems for managing our funding relationships

• Decides: Training and professional development for optimal systems usage across staff
• Recommends: Systems investments

Delivers: Contributed resources called for in the annual budget

• Decides: Programmatic deliverables included in foundation proposals
• Recommends: Foundation funding opportunities to pursue to the Director of Programs and/or CEO
• Recommends: Annual contributed income targets for the annual budget

Communications Team:

Delivers: Organization-wide communications strategy and external messaging

• Decides: Messaging, media strategy, communications tools and platforms
• Recommends: Major rebranding initiatives, crisis communications protocols
• Does Not Decide: Program strategy decisions (those belong to Programs Team)

Delivers: Media relationships and press inquiries

• Decides: Day-to-day media outreach and response
• Recommends: High-profile media partnerships requiring organizational commitment
• Does Not Decide: Policy positions on legislation (those come from Policy Table)

Why Scope Matters

Clear scope prevents confusion. When your group knows what decisions they can make, they don't waste time asking for permission on things they're empowered to handle. When they know what to recommend instead of decide, they don't overstep their authority. And when they know what they explicitly do NOT decide, they can focus on their actual responsibilities without second-guessing.

Clear scope enables autonomy. Your group can move quickly on the work that's clearly in their scope. They don't need to wait for approval or coordinate with everyone else—they just do the work.

Clear scope improves collaboration. When everyone knows which group is responsible for what, coordination becomes easier. You know who to talk to, who needs to be involved, and who just needs to be informed. "Does Not Decide" markers make handoffs to other groups explicit and smooth.

Viewing Your Group's Purpose and Scope

How to Use Your Group's Purpose and Scope

As a Participant:

When you're part of a Team or Table, review the purpose and scope to understand:

• Why your group exists and what it's trying to accomplish (Purpose)
• What work you should be contributing to (Scope: Delivers)
• What decisions your group can make together (Scope: Decides)
• When your group needs to involve leadership or other groups (Scope: Recommends)
• What decisions explicitly belong elsewhere (Scope: Does Not Decide)

If you're ever unsure whether something belongs to your group or another group, check both the purpose (does this serve what we're trying to accomplish?) and the scope (is this in our Delivers?).

As a Group Lead:

When you're facilitating a Team or Table, use purpose and scope together to:

• Keep discussions aligned with what the group is trying to accomplish (Purpose)
• Keep work focused on what the group is responsible for (Scope: Delivers)
• Help the group understand the boundaries of their decision-making authority (Scope: Decides/Recommends/Does Not Decide)
• Redirect work that belongs to other groups
• Evaluate whether proposed work serves the group's purpose

When Purpose or Scope Isn't Clear

If your group's purpose or scope feels vague or confusing, you'll notice these symptoms:

Unclear Purpose:

• The group debates what work is "in bounds" for them
• Different members have different ideas about what the group is trying to accomplish
• It's hard to evaluate whether proposed work serves the group

Unclear Scope:

• The group debates whether work belongs to them or to another group
• Participants are unsure when they can make decisions vs. when they need approval
• Work falls through the cracks because no one is sure whose responsibility it is
• The group duplicates work being done by another group

If you're experiencing these issues, it's a signal that either purpose or scope (or both) needs clarification. Work with your Sponsor or Org Admin to refine them so everyone has clarity about what the group is trying to accomplish and what they're responsible for delivering.

Remember: Only add detail where there's confusion. Don't try to anticipate every possible scenario or document every decision the group might make. Start simple with a clear purpose statement and basic scope, then add specificity only where swim-lanes between groups are unclear or where confusion has actually emerged in practice. The goal is clarity, not exhaustive documentation.

When to Use Teams vs Tables

Not sure whether to create a Team or a Table for specific work? Here's a decision framework:

Create a Team when:

• The work is primarily within one functional area
• People need a stable home base for their expertise
• The group handles ongoing operational work
• Members share similar skills or responsibilities
• Example: Communications Team, Programs Team, Development Team

Create a Table when:

• The work requires coordination across multiple departments
• You're tackling a specific strategic initiative
• No single department can accomplish this alone
• You need diverse expertise working together
• Example: Campaign Table, Equity Table, Policy Table

Sometimes you need both:

A Program Team handles ongoing program operations, while a Campaign Table brings together program staff with communications, organizing, and development colleagues to coordinate a specific campaign.

Related Articles

Want to learn more about how to work in Teams and Tables?

• Getting Started as a Participant - Learn how to contribute effectively in your groups
• Getting Started as a Group Lead - Understanding your role in facilitating and managing Teams/Tables
• Using the Planner to Manage Teams/Tables - Your management dashboard for planning and tracking work
• How Strategies Work in JustOrg Design - How your group's work connects to organizational strategy

Need help setting up or clarifying Teams and Tables in your organization? Chat with us using the bubble at the bottom right of the screen.

Updated on: 05/01/2026