We work in a hierarchy!

“Hey, Curmudge. Did you realize that we work in a hierarchy?”

“Of course I do, Jaded Julie. If it weren’t a hierarchy, there would be chaos. Businesses, hospitals, churches, and even Boy Scout troops are hierarchies. Out in nature, everything from an elephant herd to an anthill is a hierarchy. Did you ever dig your heel into an anthill? It messes up their organization, and the ants run around like crazy. It’s not a pretty sight unless the anthill is in your lawn. So what is your concern?”

“During the past several months we’ve been speaking of hierarchies as if they all had leprosy. Back on February 18 you listed all sorts of nastiness that occurred in the old command-and-control cultures. Now you’re telling me that hierarchies are okay. What’s the straight scoop, O Ancient One?”

“I confess, Julie, that similar issues have been haunting me. Then I found a book that has swept the cobwebs out of my mind.”

“If it can do that, it must be one heck of a book.”

“It’s Harold J. Leavitt’s Top Down. Why hierarchies are here to stay and how to manage them more effectively. Published in 2005 by Harvard Business School Press. As you will learn, Julie, we want to convert the hierarchy’s middle managers into manager/leaders. Shall I continue?”

“I think class is now in session, but please, Professor, no snap quizzes.”

“Leavitt tells us that in his discipline, management and organizational development, there have historically been two streams of thought, systemizing (organizations as masters) and humanizing (humans as masters). The old command-and-control hierarchies represented systemizing in the extreme. The intent of humanizing was to enhance personal growth, which we now recognize as servant leadership.”

“But Curmudge, we think of the ‘respect for people’ aspect of the Toyota Production System as humanizing, but the TPS also has some systemizing elements. Things like standard work and hoshin kanri planning.”

“Exactly. Even Toyota requires a hierarchy, and it contains systemizing and humanizing aspects. Today’s hierarchies, like Toyota’s, are not like Henry Ford’s.”

“So what does that have to do with managers and leaders?”

“This clash of cultures occurs right on the head of the middle manager. She is required to be a systemizer. We hope she will also become a humanizer, but as Leavitt says, ‘Leadership is a managerial elective.’ The day she is promoted manager, the hierarchy anoints her with a measure of authority. The authority that accompanies her promotion is an inescapable aspect of her place in the organizational hierarchy. It affects how people act toward her, communicate with her, and react to her decisions. Of course, all of that depends on their position on the totem pole.”

“That sounds rather ominous, Curmudge. What else does she need to do?”

“If she wants to flourish in her new position, she must develop what Leavitt calls authoritative presence, which is comprised of authoritative savvy and authoritative aura. Authoritative savvy means knowing and exercising appropriate behavior in the presence of superiors, peers, and subordinates. Authoritative aura is the intangible air of authority that bosses somehow exude.”

“If I ever get to meet the Queen—or even just Hillary—I’ll learn first hand what authoritative aura is.”

“My daughter met the Queen Mother many years ago. I’ll ask her if some of the aura rubbed off. So up to this point we’ve learned about managers and the authority that they acquire in a command-and-control hierarchy. I hope you’ve perceived that in today’s hierarchies authority isn’t sufficient and that the other essential ingredient is leadership. We’ll talk about leadership in hierarchies next time.”

“You mean I’ll have to wait a week to learn more of Leavitt’s lessons?”

“Maybe longer, Julie, if my grass needs cutting.”

Affinity’s Kaizen Curmudgeon