Opinion: The case for getting rid of your boss
You’ve probably all heard of flat structures. No formal hierarchy, fewer managers, and more autonomy. They can sound appealing, and the research suggests they can work well. There’s a key thing at the core of making flat structures function properly – distributed authority – and it’s more nuanced than simply removing the boss.
What is “distributed authority” and when does it work? And when doesn’t it?
Distributed authority and so-called, “self-managing teams” are often introduced to increase flexibility, performance, and employee satisfaction. Research shows they can achieve these outcomes; but only under specific conditions. Having “Distributed authority” that really works requires specific individual behaviours.
When does it work best?
Distributed authority refers to the decentralisation of decision-making from formal leaders to team members. Teams are given responsibility for at least how work is done, and in some cases also for what is done and why.
One systematic review (Doblinger, 2022) shows that distributed authority is most effective when individual team members have the competencies needed to work without having a hierarchical, “boss” figure.
Across 84 studies, positive job performance, behavioural, and wellbeing outcomes were associated with teams whose members demonstrated:
- Self-leadership and self-management
- Proactive responsibility taking
- Shared leadership behaviours
- Interpersonal support, trust, and conflict management
- Adaptability, learning orientation, and tolerance of uncertainty
When these competencies are present, distributed authority leads to good job performance. In these conditions, self-managing teams can outperform traditionally managed teams.
When distributed authority may not work so well
Distributed authority is not inherently beneficial.
Findings across studies show that:
- Structural empowerment alone (having distributed authority by name without necessarily providing the skills, information, trust, cultural support needed for teams to self-manage effectively!) produces mixed, or just negative, effects
- When individuals lack the necessary competencies, too much autonomy can actually lead to stress, role ambiguity, conflict, and reduced performance
- Teams may struggle particularly during early stages of self-management, when expectations are unclear and self-regulation demands are high.
In these instance, the absence of a clear leader does not result in effective self-management. Instead, teams may experience decision paralysis, interpersonal tension, or informal power imbalances. So don’t actually get rid of your boss just yet!
Hiring for distributed authority
One key thing to takeaway is that if you want your organisation to have more self-managing teams, you need to select for behaviours that contribute to distributed authority actually working out.
Rather than focusing only on task-specific skills, broader domains like:
- Willingness and ability to take responsibility
- Adaptability and comfort with ambiguity
- Motivation for self-development and learning
These skills are key to hiring individuals that are going to thrive in a flatter structure. It’s also important to think about how an individual’s skills fit within the team that they’re joining and what they’re able to add that could otherwise be missing in a self-managing team.
Get rid of your boss. Maybe.
If you are looking a flatter structure in your organisation, your employees need to have the breadth of skills and behaviours that make distributed authority work.
Reference
Doblinger, M. (2022). Individual competencies for self-managing team performance: a systematic literature review. Small Group Research, 53(1), 128-180.
