As I was giving a conference in Singapore I talked about how the Fourth Revolution will certainly lead to the disappearance of traditional hierarchy in organization.
The reason is that Industrial Age hierarchy was justified by the scarce and expensive communication capabilities. This resulted in the pyramidal organization, which minimizes the number of links between individuals. Today with cheap and plentiful communication, organizations should become much flatter and networked.
Anyway I must have touched a ‘hot button’ because my remark did spur a lot of questions. Attendees seemed terrified by the perspective of the disappearance of traditional hierarchy. It might be because it gives some comfort and single point of reference (the boss) which makes it a more comfortable situation to be in compared to being in the midst of a network with uncertainty as to what needs to be done and how. Still some organizations do manage to be successful that operate in a fully non-hierarchical manner (see the blog post on the company Valve).
Removing hierarchy requires each of us to determine its objectives and be self-directed when it comes to what needs to be done. I fully understand that proposition might look scary to those used to work in a traditional environment. Still isn’t it an interesting value proposition that includes more freedom? Is it worth it? Can everyone adapt to this new organization? What do you think?
