While having family dinner my 11 year old son asked me "what is chain of command?"
I told him what I thought of the concept, but I also felt compelled to share my thoughts on LinkedIn and this blog. The intention is to ask other professionals here for your opinions, so we can get a different perspective. Please comment what you think about chain of command and/or what modern reporting cultures you think work well?
What I think of Chain of command.
Chain of Command, an old school- hierarchical structure (aka: control management,) more often than not, is an inept culture that is slow to meet today’s challenges quickly before they become big problems. It is a culture that breeds bureaucracy, low trust, suppresses solutions and curbs innovation. While structure is important in order to prevent chaos, the ability to get things done quickly with a degree of autonomy in our teams is paramount.
It’s sad that some companies still today unfortunately have people in place that try to emulate control from the military, where supervisors and overseers literally watched over the work of their people, instruct their underlings what to do and how exactly to do it. Most of these style managers have never served in the military and don’t understand how the real concept works. It is called the “chain of command” for a reason! The military culture and the discipline it promotes clearly have some advantages with respect to training, communication and innovation for the intended results. The old school corporate model of chain of command, from a simpler past, doesn't really work effectively in our modern corporate environment where organizations and employees are much more skilled, connected, and diverse.
Chain of Command managers in the modern corporate world today really need a reality check. They are the first to try and sever the relationships between their underlings and their leadership above. They are generally win-lose dictators who go out of their way to suppress open dialog. They try hard to gain control and power, then kill the open door policies of the leadership above, that make successful companies open and transparent. In essence this is how "bad managers" get a free pass by instilling a culture that upper managers should "ignore" requests of his/her subordinates. This style of boss is generally on a power trip, paranoid, most likely has an insecurity problem and wants to strengthen his/her place in the corporate hierarchy. They are generally only accountable only to their superiors. Chain of command managers are fearful and shun 360 evaluations. When’s the last time a chain of command Manager asked for anonymous 360 feedback from his whole team? Like a scene from Horrible Bosses, Chain of Command Managers are interested primarily in the manager’s image and advancement. Self-preservation is at the forefront of most decisions.
In my experience, chain of command issues are generally a result of inattentiveness or lack of understanding on the part of the superior rather than intransigence on the part of the direct report. That's why underlings go around a chain of command manager in the first place. I am in no way endorsing to disrespect a reporting structure. But If there is no respect, trust, relationship, or the Chain of Command Manager doesn't completely understand the work he responsible for, the boss will be seen as an obstacle rather than the go to guy. There's a difference between respecting someone's “position” and respecting the purpose of your job and commitment to your company. TITLE does not give Chain of Command Manager respect by default, shame on any manager/subordinate who has some far-fetched fantasy that it does! When Chain of Command Manager stands in the pathway of success, agreed goals (has none) and company values, the tendency of most subordinate is to go around the obstacle. The true problem is generally the bottleneck and bureaucracy a chain of command manager insists on. They then blame others, the system for the poor results and problems they created. We unfortunately compound the problem if we have chain of command manager that cares more about pecking order and ego than doing what’s in the best interest of the company or getting the job done. Letting our teams be trapped under a flawed hierarchical structure will cause our companies, departments and teams to lose morale and performance. I've never met a performer who took the time to create a problem. The problem comes when he attempts to find a way around an obstacle so he can continue to do what he does best……create positive results.
A good leader does not have the need to arbitrarily "impose" a chain of command or "set expectations" in the way that is implied, if you had to revert to these methods, or to micro-manage your people, you probably already have lost with your team and have a broken system. What is especially important in modern matrix based leadership cultures is that it prizes individual empowerment, collaboration, and creativity, which is an important factor for productivity too.
Most leaders (we are all leaders) choose to respect our superiors, but that is lost when we are treated as servants. Leadership involves serving the organization, our teams and the people within it without being concerned about rank. Chain of command cultures tends to pervert the servant leadership principle and insist the manager must be served by “his/her” people. This faulty interpretation fosters the notion that chain of command has the right: to acquire personal status, advantage, gain, etc., at the expense of others. If a chain of command manager doesn't want to change, he should probably enlist and get a uniform, but they wouldn't do well in the military either.
As modern leaders, we need to establish the right balance of control and autonomy for our cohorts, superiors and teams. We also grant our teams and individuals a fair amount of responsibility and latitude in carrying out their tasks. It can’t be so too rigid that it suppresses open dialogue, creativity and innovation. The management techniques and assumptions developed from a simpler authoritarian past can make it difficult for us to make these changes now. Instead of having to control everything, Chain of Command Managers need to transition into effective leadership mentors who focus on building the capability in their people to solve problems in an open transparent culture. The productivity, motivation, and enthusiasm gained by an open and empowered workforce by breaking the chains of command will pay huge dividends for years to come.
So what is your reporting culture? Are your results built more matrix based reporting,…..or is it rank and file?
