A Workplace with No Managers

EXTREME SELF-ORGANIZATION

A WORKPLACE WITH NO MANAGERS

PAWEL BRODZINSKI

BRODZINSKI.COM

@PAWELBRODZINSKI

LET ME TELL YOU A STORY…

A HEALTHY WORKPLACE WHICH ALLOWS US

TO FULFILL OUR POTENTIAL, KEEPS US

ENGAGED, AND GIVES US OPTIONS TO

PURSUE OUR PERSONAL GOALS EVEN WHEN

THEY CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF OUR

LIFETIMES.

WORLDWIDE, ONLY 13% OF

EMPLOYEES ARE ENGAGED

AT WORK.

GALLUP, 2013

Source: Gallup: State of the Global Workplace

AUTONOMY

MASTERY

PURPOSE

LACK OF AUTONOMY IS THE ISSUE

BUT WE CAN’T DO ANARCHY

TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE

LEAN & AGILE

SOMEWHAT FLAT ORGANIZATION

PRETTY TRANSPARENT

VERY STRONG, CHARISMATIC CEO

THERE IS NO SINGLE PATH

WE DON’T CHANGE PEOPLE’S BEHAVIORS

SIMPLY BY MAKING INFORMATION

AVAILABLE. WE NEED UNDERSTANDING

OF INFORMATION WE RECEIVE AND

CAPABILITIES TO ACT ON IT.

AUTONOMY

DECENTRALIZING CONTROL

REQUIRES DECENTRALIZING BOTH

THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS

AND THE INFORMATION REQUIRED

TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS

CORRECTLY.

DON REINERTSEN

Source: Don Reinertsen: Principles of Product Development Flow

AUTHORITY DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY MEAN

AUTONOMY. THERE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL

CONDITIONS THAT MAY PREVENT US FROM

EXERCISING AUTHORITY WE FORMALLY HAVE.

TO ENABLE LOWER

ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS TO MAKE

DECISIONS, WE NEED TO GIVE THEM

AUTHORITY, INFORMATION, AND

PRACTICE. WITHOUT PRACTICE AND

THE FREEDOM TO FAIL UPON

OCCASION, THEY WILL NOT TAKE

CONTROL OF THESE DECISIONS.

DON REINERTSEN

Source: Don Reinertsen: Principles of Product Development Flow

DECISION MAKING: THE ULTIMATE APPLICATION

OF AUTHORITY IN MODERN WORKPLACE

THE PREVAILING MANAGEMENT PARADIGM:

HIERARCHICAL POWER-DISTRIBUTION STRUCTURE

TO CREATE SPACE FOR AUTONOMY THOSE IN

POWER NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK

THERE’S NO SIMPLE ANSWER TO SUCH A QUESTION

WELL, CAN YOU?

HEY BOSS, CAN I…

TAKING A STEP BACK STRATEGY

BRINGS YOU ONLY THAT FAR

CONSENSUS-DRIVEN

DECISION MAKING

DECISION MAKING PROCESS

DECISION MAKING PROCESS:

SCALING UP

TRANSPARENT SALARIES

OPEN SALARIES IS A GREAT EXERCISE IN

AUTONOMOUS DECISION MAKING

RESETTING LUNAR LOGIC STRATEGY

EMERGENT PURPOSE

AUTONOMY, TRANSPARENCY AND

ALIGNMENT ARE CRUCIAL TRAITS OF

AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS NOT DRIVEN

IN A TOP-DOWN MANNER

BY A PERSON IN POWER

FIRING PEOPLE

THE FINAL TOUCH OF REMOVING

FORMAL MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

DISCARD OFFICIAL POSITIONS

DOWNPLAY ROLE OF CEO

ROLES INSTEAD OF POSITIONS

CONTEXTUAL, EMERGENT LEADERSHIP

THE TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATION DESIGN IS

BASED ON A HIERARCHICAL

POWER-DISTRIBUTION STRUCTURE.

THE NEW PARADIGM IS (BOUNDED)

AUTONOMY, WHICH PROMOTES INITIATIVE

OVER FORMAL POSITION.

THE CHANGE IS NOT ABOUT AN

ORGANIZTION BECOMING INFORMAL

INSTEAD OF FORMAL.

AUTONOMY-BASED ORGNIZATIONAL DESIGN

CAN BE EMERGENT AND VERY INFORMAL AS

WELL AS EXTREMELY FORMALIZED, AS IT

HAPPENS WITH E.G. HOLACRACY.

organizational culture

the behavior of humans who are part of an organization and the meanings that the people react to their actions includes the organization values, visions, norms, working language, systems, symbols, beliefs, and habits

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture

SUSTAINED TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE

LEAN & AGILE

TRULY FLAT ORGANIZATION

EXTREMELY TRANSPARENT

NO MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

EMERGENT LEADERSHIP

NEW LOGO

10% - 20% PEOPLE LEAVE

BECAUSE OF THE TRANSFORMATION

A WORKPLACE WHERE WE CAN PURSUE

OUR DREAMS NOT BY LEAVING THE

COMPANY AT A FIRST SIGN OF

MISALIGNMENT BUT BY INFLUENCING AND

CHANGING THE ORGANIZATION SO IT SUITS

OUR PLANS BETTER.

THANK YOU

PAWEL BRODZINSKI