Sublime

Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin—you can’t have one without the other (at least not for long).

The institution’s activity is divided into chunks, which are also perceived as entities; these chunks are divided into smaller chunks, and so on. In every chunk there is a boss-man, with lesser bosses reporting to him and running the smaller chunks.

The bond between a boss and the subordinate often makes for an unhealthy parent-child relationship. In self-managing organizations, the system pushes us to behave in adult-to-adult relationships, whatever our differences in education, seniority, and scope of work.

Self-managing organizations naturally provide for exceptional learning opportunities.

Many give lip service, but few delegate authority in important matters. And that means all they delegate is dog-work. A real leader does as much dog-work for his people as he can: he can do it, or see a way to do without it, ten times as fast. And he delegates as many important matters as he can because that creates a climate in which people grow.