Why digital teams keep shifting shape and what to do instead

If you’ve worked in digital at a charity for more than five minutes, you’ve probably seen the following pattern. One year, digital is centralised into a neat little team with shared processes and reporting lines. A couple of years later, the pendulum swings. Digital is embedded across teams, everyone has a bit of ownership, and things feel more ‘empowered’.

Until they don’t.

Because while both models can work, the problem is that we often swap one for the other without addressing what’s really going on underneath.

It’s not about structure, it’s about support

This shift between centralised and devolved isn’t usually driven by strategy. It’s a reaction. Centralised teams feel overstretched and aren’t given the tools to prioritise. The answer seems to be giving power to the people.

Devolved teams then feel fragmented or lost, and the fix becomes pulling it all back into the middle. But all we’re doing is kicking the same issues into a different corner of the room.

From our work across the sector, and from many a post-it covered retrospective, we’ve seen the same story play out again and again. The issue isn’t structure, it’s what sits beneath it – or more often, what doesn’t.

The false choice we keep making

Here’s the thing, centralised teams bring consistency, focus and a clear sense of direction. But they can also slow things down and make people feel like digital is something that happens ‘over there’.

Devolved models give autonomy and can move faster. But without shared standards or enough capability, things fragment quickly.

The truth is, either model can work, but only if you’ve got the right foundations in place.

So what actually matters?

Whether you’re centralised, embedded, hybrid, or still trying to work it out, there are a few things that matter more than your org chart.

1. Invest in people, not just platforms

Obvious? Maybe. But capability doesn’t grow by giving people more tools. In fact, sometimes the more systems you roll out, the more disempowered people feel. That’s because no one’s helped them figure out how to use them meaningfully in their own context.

We need to stop assuming that skills training is a one-off event or that confidence comes from knowing how to use a CMS. People need time to learn with others, space to try things without fear, and the belief that they’ll be backed even if things don’t work the first time.

2. Sometimes, inconsistency is a sign of progress

One of the biggest reasons organisations recentralise digital is fear of inconsistency and low quality work. However, in the early stages of digital maturity, inconsistency is actually a feature, not a bug.

It means people are trying new things. It means learning is happening. It’s messy, yes, but it’s also human. Trying to squash that too early in the name of ‘standards’ can kill momentum.

The better approach? Create light-touch frameworks that allow variation with purpose, and focus your energy on sharing learning, not enforcing uniformity.

3. Trust grows faster at the edges than the centre

We often talk about ‘building trust’ as something central teams need to do with the rest of the organisation. But sometimes the best relationships happen when people build digital practice alongside their day job.

A fundraiser who’s developed their own data dashboard is far more likely to bring colleagues along with them than a central analyst presenting from on high. A service lead who’s redesigned a form based on real user needs will often have more local influence than a digital strategist ever could.

Support those people. Find them. Back them. Because that’s how culture shifts.

4. Leadership doesn’t always come from the top, and shouldn’t

If you’re waiting for the CEO to ‘get’ digital before anything meaningful can happen, you’ll be waiting a while.

Some of the most significant changes we’ve seen come from middle managers creating pockets of digital confidence in their teams. Or from those on the front lines, who spot a better way and quietly start doing it.

The job of senior leadership is not to have all the answers, it’s to create the conditions for those ideas to surface and succeed.

Before you redraw your team chart

Ask yourself the following questions.

• Are we solving the right problem?

• Have we built trust and clarity, or are we just shifting responsibilities?

• Are we putting enough behind people and purpose to make any structure succeed?

• And maybe most importantly, are we comfortable with the messiness that real growth brings?

Because if not, you’ll just find yourself here again in 18 months’ time, swinging back the other way.

Final thought

Digital success isn’t about whether you centralise or devolve. It’s about whether your people are supported, your goals are shared, and your culture is ready to make it work.

Everything else is just furniture.