In my first post I acknowledged one of the barriers many people face with a flat organization: it’s disorienting. Mostly we’re trained in hierarchy, so we’re used to navigating the bumps and dilemmas of a workplace with conventional management. We’ve developed and honed those instincts. Flat organization requires the exercise of some new instincts and judgments, not to mention shaking off some habits. For many folks there’s a steep initial learning curve.
But not for everyone. I’m lucky to have had years of experience working in flat environments. When I started working at Fisdap, where a flat org model was implemented just a year prior, I experienced a learning curve around the parts that weren’t flat *enough* (to my eyes, at least). Of course, it’s nearly impossible in the US avoid a life’s learning in hierarchy. went to public schools, played on youth baseball teams, grew up with parents who believe in rules and held a couple part-time jobs as a teenager. I’m not a man from Mars in this regard.
Yet I also was privileged with a series of opportunities to learn how to work collaboratively, without bosses. As a result, I feel quite confident and comfortable working in flat spaces. I’m not terrified of proposing an idea that fails or draws critical feedback. I don’t hesitate to take initiative to get questions answered from whoever around me seems best to answer them. I have instincts for how to build consensus and distill decisions that have to be made.
As much as some people feel tentative and uncomfortable about flat organization, I feel that much more comfortable in the same environment. A conventional office is the thing that feels me with trepidation. How did I come to be that way? Well, here’s my story working and learning flat:
- Co-editor in chief of my high school newspaper. Pretty much given the reigns to run the paper as we saw fit, including major design/editorial changes and major involvement in budget and fundraising.
- Started a tiny web development consulting company with my best friend at 18. Went right from college to doing it full-time, figuring out taxes, making decisions about clients and contracts and rates. Hiring (and sometimes firing) a small group of employees. Stuck with it for almost ten years.
- Took over as co-chair of the Macalester College Green Party after former leadership faded out. Organized a big fundraiser concert in my first six months: and failed, big time. Handing over a puny stack of 5s and 10s to disappointed bands who just played to virtually no one, kind of failed. But kept going, kept organizing.
- Helped orchestrate a campaign (including a 60+ page report) trying to convince my college to keep a need-blind admissions policy (again, unsuccessfully).
- Held an internal elected position with the state Green Party, helped devise policy, budget and facilitate decision-making processes.
- Ran for the MN House of Representatives in 2006, as a 23 year old (unsuccessfully… hmmm).
- Co-founded the Metro Independent Business Alliance, an organization of and for locally-owned, independent businesses, which continues to advocate to state and local leaders.
- Managed campaigns for city council (didn’t win).
I am really thankful for these experiences. They give you a sense of my prejudices I think they’re worth reflecting on. A few things that strike me:
- Failure and unpredictability. It strikes me that I’ve failed to achieve my goals at least as often as I’ve succeeded, despite spending equal amounts of time and energy in all cases. I think I’ve learned that you don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to be an expert. Nobody can predict the future. Small business and grassroots politics are both risky endeavors in environments where many of the variables are out of your control. Some humility about what I can actually affect, I think, paradoxically makes it easier for me to go out on a limb.
- Working flat isn’t that different from entrepreneurship. Starting your own business entails a lot of the same challenges as working in a flat organization. Success depends on your initiative and there’s no one else to blame if it doesn’t happen. It’s funny that the entrepreneur is so lionized in this culture, while at the same time strict hierarchy is regarded as a norm for employees.
- All-volunteer projects are great proving grounds. If anyone can just decide to stop showing up, you’ve got to constantly be persuading and motivating the people around you. And finding the ways to work that motivate yourself!
- Success is that much sweeter, and even failure means something special. The worst scenario I can imagine working in is where nothing I do matters. For better or for worse. All of these experiences have meant a lot to me. They changed me in important ways. I think having the sense of ownership that comes with initiative, ownership and collaboration is a big reason why I’ve gotten so much of them.
And, of course, I’ve been lucky. I got the computer, the education, and the right spots where people trusted me. I think those are some of the things people need in order to be successful and comfortable in a flat org: opportunities to be trusted, the experience of failure under your own terms, and the chance to try again with what you’ve learned.
Flatvocate 