For over a few decades since management theory evolved, we all have been wired to believe and practice that leadership is at the top. We have been making organisation leaders and structures as top down approach and put rules and people in boxes. We also move the boxes up or down relatively to signify Organisational hierarchy for management optics. There is considerable pride leadership carries to represent and show spans of control and over number of roles and people.
How true is this today? How many team members / fellow colleagues relate to this conventional stereotype organisation structure that has never been challenged?
Do we believe we still manage people sitting at the top? It’s a complete fallacy or a misnomer that we still continue to live with. The ultimate truth is people look up to genuine value providers / energy boosters. No one manages anyone in a digital age as this. We instead influence and channelize work flows to make things happen collaboratively.
Just to make you think, does it not make sense to position oneself, as a leader at the centre of the team, and show team members in a circular way to represent non hierarchal team working collaboratively and the leadership holding the team at the fulcrum and not at the top or drop down boxes.
This is not a pictorial change or just a way of showing organisation structure but instead urging leaders to genuinely practice this hard and feel / experience the change the team members will respond with.
The positives that a leader sitting at the centre can get are:
No one feels subordinate to one another.
No role or person is boxed.
Interdependencies of a team are strongly felt and better represented.
Team members take more responsibility than before or the mind-set to look up to a hierarchal boss is removed.
Leader sitting at the centre becomes a guide / mentor and holds the team together better.
There is no need of direct / dotted – thick, thin and complicate understanding and behaviour.
Try this approach and trust me it is worth a change. Each one of you will love to see the result. Happy to coach anyone needing more help or write to me @ rajesh.padmanabhan@gmail.com.