Clowns, Jokers, Rocks, and Hard Places

February 27, 2015

If you haven’t yet, take some time to have a read of Aimee Groth’s wonderful article on the self-organizing management schema ‘The Holocracy’.

To undertake a whole scale transformation of how an organization  works - how decisions are made, and how power is distributed - is a  complex and audacious task. But, it also struck me as somewhat  simplistic at the same time.

What do I mean by this, I hear you toot?

What if we view the self-organizing model as the complement, the  diametric opposite, of a completely designed model? Either we let the  system decide, or we decide for the system. We manage to the extremes.  Because, at the extremes we, have more clarity and that’s really all we  want ever - is clarity, and as much as you can give us thanks very much.

My initial reaction to Ms. Groth’s piece I tweeted about:

Either/or is easy. It’s both/and that’s hard, and where the magic lives.

— David Thompson (@dcthmpsn) February 18, 2015

I suspect it could be worse to just appeal to structures on the  extremes - because sometimes you’ll need a blend of both approaches, and  by not having them, you’ll be leaving value on the table. Being able to  hold different patterns of work together long enough, in as stable and  productive way as possible, is vital. Acknowledging this, and  subsequently balancing it, are most likely two of the most challenging  obstacles facing any organization, in any industry.

Thanks for listening,

DT