Flow Charts - how important are they?

I heard someone talking the other day about being raised on a farm and mentioning the various animals that were a part of the growing up experience.  Then they made an interesting statement, "When you hear about there being a 'pecking-order' among chickens, its really true."  

Something else is true: there is also a 'pecking-order' in authority and influence in every gathering of human beings, from the informal to the highly focused.  You may not want this to be the case, you might even insist that in your organization, at least, it is not the case, BUT IT IS ALWAYS THE CASE.  There is always structure. 

In some cases the structure is informal where everyone pretends that there isn't a structure and everyone has an equal say (even though most will look to one individual or another before actually weighing in on a decision to get their opinion)  and in other cases there is a clearly outlined structure with a defined flow-chart (which may or may not reflect the actual flow of authority and influence).

The benefit of the flow chart is that it presents a visible/tangible explanation of how authority is supposed to flow within the organization.  With careful work, rigorous conversations, and constant attention, the flow chart can be of great value in directing the energies of the organization to be more effective.  If, however, the flow chart is simply an exercise to accomplish, it is likely that it doesn't accurately reflect the authority structures of the organization, and is, thus, useless for all intents and purposes.  I suspect that if you are dubious of the value of a flow chart it is because your experience is more with the latter method described above than the former.

Influence is an entirely different animal and I'm not sure I've ever seen a flow chart build from the perspective of influence.  Most flowcharts are build on the basis of position, but if it were built on the basis of influence it would revolve around individuals.  My experience has been that influence doesn't necessarily follow the same paths as authority so this would be an interesting project.

Bottom line - spending time building and maintaining an accurate flowchart that everyone agrees to and follows is a worthwhile investment.