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How to move from command and control to a participatory work environment

by Stephen Hawley Martin
for Virginia Business
February 13, 2007

A company that can prosper in the new global economy ultimately needs to have a different structure than the old command-and-control hierarchy. This hierarchy takes the form of the traditional organization pyramid. But a lean, participatory organization will operate through interlocking, empowered teams. Of course, this is not a change that can be or should be made overnight. It needs to happen over time - to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

At least two methods exist for implementing major change. The common approach is called the "define and convince" model, in which an assigned expert (or expert team) defines the change specifics and convinces the rest of the organization to follow a blueprint. This model works best in small companies, largely because of the close link between the company's leadership and its workers. But in large companies, the process is slow, seldom wins widespread buy-in and often requires extensive infrastructure and procedural controls to maintain the change.

The other method is the "participative model." The leader defines change goals and challenges for the work force to execute the changes. The actual process involves a series of large-group sessions for convergence and decision-making, positioned around smaller group activities. This is where the testing and learning takes place. This approach works best because rapid assimilation of knowledge and buy-in usually takes place across the organization.

Nevertheless, old-line managers often hesitate to use it because it requires the leaders to trust workers with the details.

Participative change roles are quite different from those in the design-and-convince approach. Leaders are not order givers but participants in learning and decision-making. Experts don't define specific changes, they provide substantive knowledge. Workers are not "change targets" but full participants in learning and decision-making.

Leaders ought to set targets and make strategic decisions. The people who will have to live with the details make up the group that ought to determine the details. If they do, they will make sure the new system works. And if it doesn't, they will be motivated to make the modifications necessary to get everything on track.

In traditional businesses, decisions for a new system are typically made by a few experts and handed down from the top. But in the method suggested here, most change decisions are made at group meetings with the help of facilitators trained in gaining consensus. Things should run smoothly if alternatives are worked out ahead of time by small groups who represent the whole, provided these groups are headed by leaders who have the respect of others. If those affected by changes are active participants in the design of the changes, they will work hard and persevere through the many hiccups that are likely to be encountered along the journey to a new way of working.

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Stephen Hawley Martin is a former principal of The Martin Agency in Richmond and the author of more than half a dozen books including his newest, Lean Enterprise Leader: How to Get Things Done Without Doing It All Yourself. He is editor and publisher of The Oaklea Press, a book publishing business dedicated primarily to helping business executives increase productivity.