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Leadership

Is Holacracy a new organizational structure that will catch on?

In November 2014, Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, the billion dollar on-line shoe retailer, announced the company was moving to holarchy, an organizational structure with no job titles and no managers.

Instead of the typical hierarchy, fraught with bottlenecks, slow decision making, and concentrated power, the company will be organized into 400 circles, with each circle having a number of roles. The intent is “radical transparency” and extreme adaptability. In this model, the CEO has less power and all employees are expected to lead and to act entrepreneurially. Zappos and its 1500 partners (you and I would call them employees) will be the largest company to date to attempt this type of organizational structure.

Let me explain what I think works with this model, as well as what bothers me about this model.

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Change

The way you were taught to learn may not work anymore

Make no doubt about it – the need to learn new things and learn them quickly has never been greater. As of a year ago, close to 90% of the North American population was connected to the internet. Globally the number is 40%.  Growing at a pace of 676% – it will not be long until most of the world is able to connect, communicate, create, collaborate and innovate. Add to that the increase in computing power (doubling every 18 months), the ability to transmit that data faster and faster (doubling every 9 months) and a dramatic decline in the cost to store massive data – we are experiencing more information, more innovation, more new knowledge and more diversity than imaginable – even 10 years ago.

Yet, it is compelling to note that class valedictorians and acing the SAT are not indicators of successful learners in today’s business world. I’ll talk about what are.

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Is Faster/Better/Cheaper Always Best?

We seem, in our personal and professional lives, to want to speed things up, maximize value, and do it with fewer and fewer resources and less money. And I’m not immune to that thinking. I challenge students in my Entrepreneurship class to find new ways to solve problems people have, to imagine ways to create a business that can do something faster or better, although I warn against competing on price alone (the cheaper). My change management practice aims to help clients implement change faster and better – and with less drama and resistance. Yet I wonder if faster/better/cheaper should really be our north star for all things and for all situations.

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Leadership

Top Ten Books for Leaders

In Leadership is an Art, Max DePree tells us that “buying books is easy; owning them is not.” He goes on to explain that, “Good readers take possession of what they are learning by underlining and commenting and questioning. In this manner they ‘finish’ what they read.” He ends his introduction by saying: “You can read this book quickly; but I hope you cannot finish it quickly. It will be worth a lot more to you if you finish it, if you have truly made it your own book.”

DePree also shares that leadership is NOT learned by reading, alone – and I fully concur. But I also know that leaders who are thoughtful and open themselves to new ideas WHILE they get their hands dirty leading, grow into better and better leaders. My mantra is that LEADERS READ.

My list of top ten comes with a disclaimer – these are NOT for learning to manage or supervise. They are in my area of specialty: transformational leadership.

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Change

Top Ten Books for Organizational Change

We are all in throes of massive change – and the reality is that the pace and magnitude of change we are facing is only going to amplify. So having a basic grasp of how change works in organizations is important for us all. Warning: This list will not be for the faint of heart, so I’ll rate it on digestibility. Some will be suitable for all levels, and others for those who like to take a deep dive. And I am always looking for more here – so I’ll look forward to the books you recommend on this topic.

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Challenges

Getting Comfortable with Conflict

I’ll admit it – I am an expert at knowing all the ways one can AVOID conflict. I grew up in a house where Mom and Dad never disagreed publicly, where parents spoke and children listened, where adults were always respected and one never talked back. That translated into discomfort around disagreement; space I inhabited for many years.

I have a very different view now…

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End of the Week Coaching Questions

At the conclusion of your work week, reflecting on a provocative question can help you learn, plan, adjust and generally, just get better. I encourage you to pick one of these per week to ponder and see what happens as a result. Writing thoughts is highly encouraged – but optional.

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