When Patrick Storto has a
problem at work, he doesn’t
go to management. In his
office, there’s no such thing
as managers – or hierarchy of any kind.
That’s because Avema, a telecom consulting
firm based in Toronto, introduced
self-management, a system that focuses on
a distributed management infrastructure.
Here’s how it works:
As a group, the 20 Avema employees
brainstormed what the company stands for
and developed a mission statement for the
company and each department. Each employee
was then responsible for outlining
his or her responsibilities in a document
workforce management
accountable for everything we do, individually
and as a group.”
Self-management is a trend initiated
by the Morning Star Company of
Sacramento, Calif., a tomato ingredient
processing company. Though it’s gaining
traction across North America now, selfmanagement
has humble beginnings.
Doug Kirkpatrick, an organizational
change consultant, executive coach,
writer and educator, is one of the original
stakeholders in the self-management
movement. In 1990, he was Morning
Star’s financial comptroller and was part
of a meeting in a construction trailer with
Chris Rufer and 23 other employees.
By Heather Hudson
called a Colleague Letter of Understanding
(CLOU). Other colleagues reviewed and
approved the documents.
“Basically, every aspect of the company
is included in someone’s CLOU,”
said Storto, who works in accounting at
Avema. “If I need something, I can look at
my colleagues’ CLOUs and know where
to retrieve that information. I don’t have
to go to management to find out who’s responsible
for it.”
Storto says the system empowers every
colleague to take responsibility for his or
her work.
“Nobody sits back here and lets somebody
else take the steering wheel. We’re all
COMPANIES ARE
EMBRACING SELFMANAGEMENT
PRACTICES WITH
GREAT SUCCESS
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ JANUARY 2015 ❚ 39