--- title: "Your Leadership Doesn't Know What's Going On: Olivia Montgomery on why decisions belong lower in the org — The Coordination Tax" description: "Olivia Montgomery — principal analyst at Data Frame and former Gartner researcher — on why every layer up the org chart knows less about what's really going on, and why the fix isn't more visibility for leadership but pushing decisions down two or three levels." url: https://www.in-parallel.com/podcast/your-leadership-doesnt-know-whats-going-on-olivia-montgomery --- Leadership Insights # Your Leadership Doesn't Know What's Going On: Olivia Montgomery on why decisions belong lower in the org Episode notes ## The conversation, captured **Date** September 1, 2026 **Participants** Kristian Luoma Olivia Montgomery The Coordination Tax is a podcast by In Parallel about what actually breaks down when teams stop sharing the same reality. In this episode, host Kristian Luoma sits down with Olivia Montgomery — principal analyst at Data Frame and, before that, a Gartner researcher who spent more than a decade studying how project management, PMOs, and organizational design actually work. The conversation is about the instinct every organization over 20 people has: when things get harder, add layers, add meetings, add controls. Olivia's argument is that each layer up the org chart knows less about what is really going on, not more — and that the fix is not more visibility for leadership but pushing decisions down two or three levels, to a place that feels uncomfortable. ### Summary - Meetings and tools are not the problem. Misuse is — the same meeting or tool does real work in one team and burns the week in another. - Every layer up the org chart knows less about what's really going on, not more. Leadership's sense of clarity is almost always wrong. - The fix isn't more visibility for leadership. It's pushing decisions down two or three levels — far enough that it feels uncomfortable. - The Monday-morning test: can each person say what they own this week without asking anyone? If not, the clarity leadership believes exists doesn't. - Mixing meeting types — status, brainstorm, decision — is one of the quietest destroyers of time in an organization. Each needs different people, different prep, different length. - The first test to apply to any meeting or process: is this alleviating uncertainty? If it isn't, it's coordination overhead. - Gartner-era research: formal PMOs measurably improve project delivery and success rates. The structure earns its keep when it removes uncertainty rather than adding reporting. - Ten years of data show emotional intelligence in project leaders correlates with better project outcomes. It is a measurable performance driver, not a soft skill. - A strict KPI focus creates dishonesty. People optimize for the number being reported rather than the reality it was meant to represent. - AI tools built for engagement are silently eating the productivity gains their vendors promise — they are designed to keep you talking. - Companies need a conscious AI vision of their own. Absent one, the vision gets set by whichever vendor sold in first. - The product-research problem: too many tools are built for the builder rather than researched with the people who have to use them. - The one thing to do this week: identify the decisions that require the most meetings, and ask honestly why the team doing the work can't make them. ### What was discussed Meetings and tools aren't the problem — misuse is Key insight - The instinct in any organization over 20 people is to add layers, meetings, and controls when things get harder. - The meeting or the tool is rarely the failure — how it is used is. Nokia — every layer up knew less Story - The pattern Olivia keeps finding — information degrades as it travels up, so each layer up the org chart knows less about what is really going on. - Leadership's confidence in its own picture is the part that goes unexamined. Push decisions down two or three levels Highlight - The fix isn't more visibility for leadership — it's moving the decision to where the work is. - Two or three levels down, far enough that it feels uncomfortable, is the target. The Monday-morning clarity test Key insight - Can each person say what they own this week without asking anyone? - If they can't, the clarity leadership believes exists doesn't. Stop mixing meeting types Key insight - Status, brainstorm, and decision are three different meetings with different people, prep, and length. - Mixing them is one of the most common quiet destroyers of time in an organization. The first test: is this alleviating uncertainty? Highlight - The single question to apply to any meeting or process before defending it. - If it isn't reducing uncertainty for someone, it is coordination overhead. Why PMOs actually work — the Gartner research Key insight - Olivia's Gartner-era research consistently showed formal PMOs improve project delivery and success. - The structure earns its keep when it removes uncertainty rather than adding another reporting layer. Emotional intelligence in project leaders — 10 years of data Key insight - A decade of data links emotional intelligence in project leaders to better project outcomes. - It is a measurable performance driver, not a soft skill that sits outside delivery. Why a strict KPI focus creates dishonesty Highlight - People optimize for the number being reported rather than the reality it was meant to represent. - The measurement regime quietly changes what teams are willing to say out loud. AI tools are designed to keep you talking Key insight - Tools built for engagement are silently eating the productivity gains their vendors promise. - Engagement and productivity are opposing design goals, and buyers rarely check which one they bought. Companies need a conscious AI vision, not a vendor-driven one Key insight - Without a deliberate internal vision, the AI strategy is set by whichever vendor sold in first. "You built a tool for yourself" — the product-research problem Story - Too many tools are built for the builder rather than researched with the people who have to use them. Closing advice: the one thing to do this week Highlight - Identify the decisions that require the most meetings. - Ask honestly why the team doing the work can't make them. ## Links Olivia Montgomery on LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/olivia-montgomery](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-montgomery/) Data Frame: [dataframe.consulting](https://dataframe.consulting/) The Coordination Tax Index 2026: [download the report](https://www.in-parallel.com/coordination-tax/#report) ## Listen [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17K_igGG2Jk) ### Get new episodes in your inbox One email per week on execution intelligence, team coordination, and enterprise AI. No fluff. By subscribing you agree to our [Privacy Policy](https://www.in-parallel.com/privacy-policy). Unsubscribe anytime. [Back to all episodes](https://www.in-parallel.com/podcast/episodes) [Book a demo](https://www.in-parallel.com/demo) ## More episodes The Coordination Tax — Richard H. 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