OK here's a dilemma I was set as acting head of planning many years ago - the planning department has 5 planners ranging from senior 10+ years, 7 years and 5 years planning experience. And 2 graduate trainees. There are 3 offices 2 with 2 desks and 1 with one desk. How would you arrange the planning team to get the most out of them?

Pause for thought.

This was what was suggested - that the most senior planner gets the small office (being by yourself is the privilege of seniority) - and the rest get bundled into the 2 remaining offices. My recommendation (which was accepted) was to put the two most senior planners in a double office apiece each with a graduate trainee. And the planner with middling experience got the solo office.

Can you see why? Organisations very often arrange themselves around status. But this doesn't make for good training. The graduate trainees would learn much faster working opposite the most senior planners. So the priority is to give the most junior as much experience as possible. The solo office went to the planner who needed the least supervision. Which raises the capabilities of the entire department - it would have been nice to have had my own office. But that wasn't the point!

The other value of this decision was the signal it sent to the planners in the department about what was important. And how much support planners could expect from within their own department. Good for morale too.