By Deborah Kops
GBS leaders think it’s about them.
Every time the reporting line moves, the self-reflection starts. What does it say about me? My model? My performance?
Here’s a hint: not much.
Reporting line changes rarely diagnose leadership; they signal enterprise intent. They tell you what the organization wants from GBS now: control, transformation, delivery, or distance from the C-suite. The move says less about the person in the box and more about what the enterprise currently needs that box to represent.
In GBS, a reporting-line change isn’t administrative housekeeping, it’s a referendum on relevance. Who you report to tells the enterprise what GBS is: a strategic enabler, a delivery engine, or a cost center in search of a purpose. And when that box moves — up, sideways, or down — it’s not the leader on trial. It’s the model itself.
The Promotion: Upward Mobility
Sometimes lightning strikes: GBS moves up the org chart — from a functional line to a CXO, or from a CXO to the CEO. That’s a legitimacy moment. And a test of altitude tolerance.
Why it happens
· The enterprise finally sees GBS as an enterprise platform, not a service factory.
· The CXO wants direct visibility.
· The transformation agenda has hit the point where GBS becomes the backbone.
What it means
· You’ve graduated from “trusted operator” to “enterprise strategist.”
· You’re now visible — and therefore vulnerable.
· Success depends on how well you can pivot from execution to narrative: making GBS not just work, but matter.
What to do
· Don’t get drunk on access. Visibility without delivering outcomes is a short-lived high.
· Reframe the function’s role in the CEO’s language; talk about growth, resilience, competitiveness.
· Lock in governance and decision rights before the novelty wears off.
The Trade: Lateral Move
More common is the Trading Card move — from CFO to CIO, COO to CHRO, or any combination thereof. GBS becomes the collectible everyone wants in their deck. Until they don’t.
Why it happens
· The enterprise wants to reposition GBS around a new narrative: digital, talent, transformation
· The new CXO wants to own a “strategic asset.”
· A structural reshuffle demands all shared services report under one “enablement” umbrella.
What it means
· Your altitude stays the same, but the air changes.
· The new boss measures success through a different lens: speed, talent, agility, experience, or cost.
What to do
· Translate your value proposition fast into words the new leader understands.
· Align to the new power base without losing your own identity.
· Use the honeymoon period to reset expectations, both yours and theirs.
· Handle it well and you gain fresh momentum. Handle it poorly and you become the corporate boomerang, always being “repositioned,” never quite belonging.
The Drop: Power Play
Then there’s the quiet gut punch: when GBS drops below the CXO line, reporting to one of their directs. It’s not a rotation; it’s usually a Power Play.
Why it happens
· The enterprise wants to “de-risk” by downgrading GBS to delivery mode.
· The CXO wants distance without bloodshed.
· There’s a political rebalancing; someone needed a consolation prize or a bigger span of control, and GBS was it.
What it means
· You are out of the room where priorities are set.
· Your story is now told through someone else’s filter.
· You still have accountability, not the same authority.
· Your ego won’t get the memo as fast as your title does.
What to do
· Diagnose intent. Is this temporary containment or a permanent demotion?
· Reinforce your mandate through performance and proof points, not politics.
· Protect your team’s morale. They’ll smell fear faster than leadership does.
· Cultivate informal influence. Corridor diplomacy now counts more than governance decks.
At the Career Crossroads: Flight, Fight or Adapt
When the org chart changes, the GBS leader faces a career decision just as much as a reporting change.
Option 1: Flee.
You take the move as a signal; the GBS brand has peaked in this enterprise. Leaving can be the smartest play if:
· The model has lost sponsorship and funding.
· You’re now being measured against a smaller mandate.
· You’ve outgrown the sandbox.
It’s not defeat; it’s market timing. Leaders who leave early often reappear elsewhere with bigger remits and a clearer mission.
Option 2: Put Up and Shut Up.
You stay but shrink to fit. You execute brilliantly, keep your head down, and make peace with being a delivery shop. It’s not only pragmatic survival, it’s also the start of irrelevance. GBS becomes safe, not strategic; the leader becomes a caretaker, not a creator.
Option 3: Adapt and Reassert.
You treat the change as a political recalibration, not a demotion. You rebuild sponsorship, redefine your outcomes, and use results — not rhetoric — to climb back. You master the fine art of leading without power, proving influence doesn’t require direct reporting.
What the GBS Leader Will Be Tempted to Do — But Shouldn’t
The reporting line moves and instinct kicks in. Most leaders reach for control, but that’s usually when restraint matters most.
Don’t over-justify.
You’ll want to write decks, spin stories, and “clarify the model.” Don’t. Over-explaining signals insecurity, not influence.
Don’t make it personal.
Ego will whisper that the change was about you. It probably wasn’t. Reacting defensively only proves the point.
Don’t hunker down.
Retreating into delivery mode feels safe, but it cements the narrative that GBS is executional, not strategic.
Don’t lobby for reversal.
Trying to undo a structural decision rarely works and brands you as political. Win back relevance through results, not resistance.
Don’t play the martyr.
The team will mirror your tone. If you act like you’ve been sidelined, they’ll behave like they have too.
Don’t mewl to the world.
Everyone sees the org chart; no one needs the play-by-play. “Forbearance” says leader. Complaint says casualty.
The Bottom Line
Every change of command is a mirror: it shows how the enterprise values GBS — and how the GBS leader values themselves. Upward moves test vision. Lateral trades test agility. Downward drops test resilience. The test isn’t whether you report up, across, or down. It’s whether you can reassert GBS as indispensable in outcomes, not org charts. Leaders who master that don’t just survive a change of command. They outlast it.