Holacracy vs Hierarchy as a business management structure

[MegaPoke]

This is fascinating. Thoughts?

I've owned my own business since 2009 and was a one man gig until two years ago when my wife became full time with me. We recently hired a part time employee with a 3 year plan to have three full time employees. Not sure my little company will ever be the kind of thing that has layers of management anyway, but this article really got me thinking.

I've sure been in a lot of companies where the traditional hierarchy seemed more designed to insulate upper management from employees and supervisors by a class of (typically) morons who had risen to their level of incompetence in the layer called "middle management."

This seems like - especially in a tech or creative business - a really effective way of getting employees to feel empowered and motivated. Or, is it just a recipe for anarchy that is doomed to abuse and laziness?

 

[poke2001]

Most companies have way too many layers of management, but I'm not really sure thus is the answer either. I've sat through several corporate manager brainwashing/trainings, so maybe I'm just buying most if the corporate garbage.

 

[hollywood]

I thought you had settled on the hellacrazy style of management to keep your employees on the ball to make sure "management" didn't freak out on them?

 

[Poketologist]

I've sure been in a lot of companies where the traditional hierarchy seemed more designed to insulate upper management from employees and supervisors by a class of (typically) morons who had risen to their level of incompetence in the layer called "middle management."

This describes my current employer perfectly.

 

[davidallen]

This seems like - especially in a tech or creative business - a really effective way of getting employees to feel empowered and motivated. Or, is it just a recipe for anarchy that is doomed to abuse and laziness?

Yes and Yes. We have 500 employees - a dozen or so coaches - no managers. Most people think that means we have lots of closet managers but truly no managers. It works but you pay for it with some unneeded chaos. Not unusual to find multiple solutions to the same problem but fantastic in the field where anyone who touches the customer is empowered to make things right. We IPOed this past year and the leeway has some limits based on things like revenue recognition and the like but we are still pushing hard to have the culture stay the same...

 

[A$$hole Consulting]

I've sure been in a lot of companies where the traditional hierarchy seemed more designed to insulate upper management from employees and supervisors by a class of (typically) morons who had risen to their level of incompetence in the layer called "middle management."

I think there are so many incompetent managers because most people are morons.

One thing I've seen at my organization is that people just don't trust others. I think that has a lot to do with people not trusting themselves, because they know they themselves are morons.

 

[davidallen]

The one thing you have to be willing to do is make quick decisions on who fits and who doesn't. Incompetence is exposed quickly and if you are going to have credibility you have to take swift action to weed it out.