The CN org structure is crazy - random look at any org. I looked a Procurement - don't know a single person. VP head - 6 direct: 1 Sr Dir, 1 Dir, 2 Sr Mgr, 2 Mgr. Lets just look at that 1 Sr Dir - under is 1 Sr Mgr (3 under), 1 Mgr (2 under), 1 Dir (1 under), and 1 Sr Mgr (1 under - who is a Manger, who then has 1 under). The entire org has more Mgr's+ than people working under them. Think about this - who runs that org & how do they have a job? And if you think this is isolated -- it's not.
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Self-managed teams guided only by Vice Presidents (VPs) for strategic direction can drastically flatten a company's leadership structure by removing traditional middle management (like directors and managers).This operational model offers several distinct advantages:
Faster decision-making: Teams execute tasks immediately without waiting for multi-layered management approvals.Rapid market response: Pixels, code, or campaigns reach the market faster because bureaucratic bottlenecks are eliminated.Direct strategic alignment: Teams receive strategy directly from VPs, reducing the "telephone game" effect where corporate goals get distorted as they pass down the chain.
High autonomy: Workers have full ownership over how they solve problems, which heavily boosts job satisfaction and morale.Intrinsically motivated cultures: Employees feel like owners rather than cogs in a machine, leading to higher retention of top talent.Proactive problem-solving: Without a manager assigned to fix things, team members naturally step up to resolve roadblocks themselves.
Lower overhead costs: Eliminating layers of middle management significantly reduces payroll expenses.Resource allocation: Capital can be redirected away from administrative oversight and straight into product development, R&D, or frontline talent.True meritocracy: Performance becomes highly visible to peers and VPs, making it easier to identify actual high contributors.
Peer-to-peer accountability: Team members hold each other accountable to deadlines and quality standards, which is often more powerful than top-down pressure.Cross-functional skill growth: Employees in self-managed teams naturally learn adjacent skills (e.g., a developer learning basic project management) to keep projects moving.
Procurement is one of the most difficult departments I have worked with. Nothing but tickets, then a bunch of questions answered if they read the ticket, and then a “we don’t do that”. Healthplans have over 100 vendors all signed up by procurement outsourcing work to third parties we pay bloated rates for sub par work. Agree with Project Simplify or not a big piece is vendor reduction so I suspect Procurement and their over titled employees won’t last.
@et The only reason why you ate defending this lousy company is because right now they are paying you well, NOT because in your heart you believe in their mission. Well, someday they will throw you away also.
I don’t know if you know basic math. But I count fewer managers+ than individual contributors. Or does your rage baiting rely on people with not critical thinking skills?
So you’re very obviously looking at Direct Procurement under Pam.
There are over a dozen Sourcing Specialists on that team reporting up to those managers. I also assume you have no idea how procurement is structured as you mentioned you don’t know who any of these people are.
Each one of those category managers leads a different part of Direct Procurement, the teams are broken up by the type of contracts they handle.
Our Procurement department is actually small for how large CNC is.
Why don’t you show us your department instead of picking one you don’t know anything about?
And then everyone is wondering where the governance is...
@ar I mentioned in 2024 and 2025 that we were running too lean and was told to wait while we reorged and “pivoted.” Later in 2025, I was told that 2025 was a ‘year of planning,’ while 2026 would be a ‘year of execution.’
I was executed alright. And they did me a favor as I was never given the chance to really help them.
The lack of real accountability of leadership in their planning and execution is astounding. They’re easily the most incompetent crew I’ve encountered in my very long career. And I was at AT&T. 🙄
It is a way to obfuscate accountability. When something goes wrong - we can all point our fingers at each other.
The top heavy management was the first thing I noticed when I started working here. It’s absolutely ridiculous. This company is set up for failure.
Upper management is definitely padded and im not sure what they do on a daily basis…..why do u need a supervisor reporting to a manager to a senior manager to a director to a vp?!!!!! Make it make sense…..
As a leader (mid+ to Sr level) I see this in most of our verticals and it's very disturbing. If I'm being paid a salary to set strategy that serves our members, providers, and plans, but I have 3 VPs and an SVP above me, and zero are willing to empower others, then my hands are tied. I don't need a structure that is manager reporting to a Sr manager reporting to a director reporting to a Sr Dir reporting to a VP reporting to a VP reporting to a VP reporting to an SVP reporting to a business head. We've lost the plot.
There will be more people leaders than individual contributors. This is ludicrous.
There is one org in Biz Ops where a VP has 4 sr directors/directors and NONE of them have direct reports. Make. It. Make. Sense.
@a7 Does anyone happen to know if I can claim Centene as a dependent on my taxes, seeing as how for years my tax dollars have been propping ip this mismanaged organizational chart?
I’m kidding! But it probably should be allowed.
Per Sarah: "And then in the government-sponsored space, there is none of that because you are literally a steward of taxpayer dollars. And if you steward those dollars effectively it means that you're driving good outcomes for members and so you actually can do both of those things."
tax payer dollars - huh - and yet you have an org structure litterally wasting tax payer dollars.
You need to have one person to read a diagram on how to hold the ladder in place and that person verbalizes that information to another person who instructs the person holding the ladder for the person that will be installing a new light bulb. Of course, you also need a person to instruct that person as to which direction to turn the light bulb and at what angle. And you need a compliance person to ensure the proper wattage is being installed and correct diagrams being used and the ladder meets safety protocols as well as what everyone is wearing.
Oh no, we are using an incandescent bulb but have been told by hire-ups that we now want to be using fluorescent bulb. Everyone stop! We need to start all over and draw up new plans.
Duh, that’s called transformation.
Yes direct ppl leader, manager: senior manager, director….so many leadership roles for what??!!!!!!