So, the subject sounds pretty deep this week, but before you start wondering if we’ve taken leave of our senses – we’re talking about your organization and all of its structure – or lack thereof. You know; your unintended organizational chart.
It happens – you’re going along someday thinking you’re the coolest boss in the free world, when all of a sudden, you’re slapped with the reality that your organization isn’t flat like you had intended.
Surprise, the World isn’t flat – nor is your business
Before humans discovered
that the World wasn’t flat, we figured we’d just sail out into the ocean and fall off the edge when we got to the end of the earth. And, you run the risk of doing the same thing with your business if you don’t recognize the pitfalls of flat organizations. The way you manage your people, the structure you put into play for them, the career progression, leadership, and “belongingness” (hey, if Wiki used it, it’s good with us) you create for your employees has to be intact – and that’s a ship YOU have to sail.
The concept of social hierarchy
Malcolm Gladwell addressed many things in his book, “The Tipping Point” – one of which was the observation that without a certain level of organizational structure, humans tend to
create their own – with “Social Leaders” at the top.
That’s where Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comes in. If you haven’t ever digested his theory, you can find a concise explanation on Wikipedia. But in short, Maslow theorized back in 1943 that humans needed fulfillment of their physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualization and self-transcendence to maintain a healthy life and perspective on same.
And, what exactly does that mean to you? It means that most humans are inherently hierarchal. They need to know where the buck stops. They need feedback and critique as much as they need praise. They need to know who they answer to get their business-related “Maslow” needs met. Don’t provide them the structural safety-net they need, and they’ll end up going to the people they trust within your organization – usually the social leaders who seem to have all the answers and are approachable and helpful. Your unintended organizational chart is formed, with your social leaders pulling the strings on your behalf – whether or not you gave them permission.
Would you promote that “Social Leader” to your leadership team?
Which begs the question, if you wouldn’t promote the social leaders in your organization to leadership positions – then why would you entrust your organization with them? Not saying all social leaders aren’t leadership material – many are (if they’re given the tools and the right direction or any direction at all) – but many are so incredibly misaligned for leadership that you’d never place them in a leadership role.
Some social leaders are wanna-be’s. They want to look like they have some level of power and influence, but they don’t want the work (or responsibility) that goes with it. We’ve seen pot-stirrers and subversives, negative-nellies and sacred-cows – all of whom can, if left unattended, do the kind of harm to an organization that the average F5 tornado can
– but slower, more painfully and destroying the health of your business.
Whether you agree with Gladwell, Maslow or not….flat doesn’t always equal cool
Whether you agree with the theories of Gladwell, Maslow, or even hr-haven for that matter doesn’t really matter in the long haul. The health and welfare of your business and employees is what matters most if you’re going to have a thriving business.
From our standpoint, we’ve been through so many situations where the social leaders took over the helm of the ship that it took all a business owner had to get it righted. The consequences of the “Unintended Organizational Chart” have played out too many times for us to dispute the theories laid out here which is why we preach that flat isn’t always cool.
If you’ve got your head screwed on straight and have plenty of support systems in place, flat could conceivably work – but for most business owners, flat equals more work, more time away from the business and more headaches than even the loosest organizational structure. And, who has time for that – you’re too busy being the coolest boss in the free world.