Organizations are notoriously hierarchical or top-down given principally two age-old models; the family and the military. Both are instructive models in their own right. We’ve just learned the wrong lessons from them.
Children find the nuclear family notoriously hierarchical, for good reason. But business is not made up of children. A functioning family of adults adjusts their views of its members as they mature and interacts with each other as a small organization of equals with special dispersion and respect for specialty and experience.
The original military command and control model is the oldest form of organization outside the family. After all, fighting for food amidst a perpetual state of war has been the normal state of human affairs until only very recent history.
Command and Control structures were designed for two basic reasons; expert direction and communication. Communication involves both dissemination and protection. Knowledge is power especially in war and business. While secrecy of some information is still a primary concern of organizations and militaries, it is interesting to note how world class militaries have changed their focus on expert direction and therefore empowerment over the years.
The US military is now arguably the most educated organization in the USA; it has more graduates, MBA’s, PHD’s, etc. per capita than any other private or non-profit organization. Further, it’s overwhelmingly primary goal in training its recruits is discernment and empowerment. That is, it is pushing authority and the ability to act as far down the hierarchy as possible. This is a far cry from the militaries of a hundred years ago, when soldiers were asked to line up, shoot and hopefully not die.
But there are other reasons for the dispersion of power in today’s military, other than just the nature of the enemy and how wars are conducted. In an organization whose purpose is literally life and death, one could safely say they have a very urgent need to continually search for more effective modes of operation.
A key enabler has been technology. Today the whole communication paradigm has been thrown out, which for many organizations is the overwhelmingly most important practical reason for retaining large and complex hierarchies. The military is re-inventing themselves by empowering the soldiers on the ground. The result is a flatter, quicker, more nimble organization which makes them more adept and productive at execution and alteration of goals and strategies. Does that sound like your organization?
Unlocking productivity, innovation, new strategies and driving change are all possible in today’s organizations. But they can’t be done without flatter org charts and engaged, empowered employees. The age of the worker drone should be well past.
For further insight into outside forces on the military structure:
 | Victory at Risk: Restoring America’s Military Power: A New War Plan for the Pentagon |
