“Chris passed around a draft of
the Morning Star Guiding Colleague
Principles,” said Kirkpatrick. “One:
Human beings should not use force or coercion
against other human beings. Two:
People should honour the commitments
they make to each other in the workplace.
“We bandied this about for a couple of
hours and couldn’t think of any reason not
to adopt these principles. Basically, the vision
was that we’d have an organization
that would have happiness and prosperity
to the degree we lived up to these
principles.”
Twenty-four years later, Morning Star
is a multi-million dollar company that still
employs the self-management concept: all
colleagues are considered equal, from the
manufacturing floor to the administrative
functions.
“That’s how we work in the rest of our
lives, so aligning organizational life with
the way people operate just makes sense,”
said Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick has since written the book on
self-management, Beyond Empowerment:
The Age of the Self-Managed Organization,
and offers seminars through the Morning
Star Self-Management Institute (SMI) to
advise other companies to “co-create the future
of management.”
After taking a few SMI seminars,
Avema CEO Roger Yang invited his employees
to learn the concept and bring it
back to the office in Toronto.
Within months, the small office had fully
adapted the self-management style. And
one year in, Storto says communication
and satisfaction is much improved.
“If anyone has an issue with another
colleague, we bring it to that person instead
of to a manager,” he said. “There are
no rumours. We settle things directly.”
Avema colleagues (they’re no longer
called employees) conduct quarterly peer
reviews to offer and receive constructive
criticism. After three rounds, Storto says
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workforce management
everyone is becoming more comfortable
with the process.
“We always have debates and clashing
opinions on new ideas on how to improve
the company, save money or make money,”
he said. “We’re not all ‘yes-men.’ Everyone
has input and we come to decisions much
more collaboratively.”
Kirkpatrick says the system could be incorporated
into any type of organization
– he’s found pockets of self-management
in the Canadian military – but startup
and tech companies in particular are
most open to it so far. He acknowledges
that legacy companies and those with entrenched
layers of hierarchy would have a
more difficult time making the transition.
“It’s partly a matter of change in individual
mindset,” said Kirkpatrick. “If
managers have risen up through ranks and
obtained positions by climbing up the corporate
ladder, they may not be willing to
abandon those positions. That would have
to be thought through very carefully.”
And what happens to HR departments
in a self-managed organization?
“I can assure HR professionals that
there is still a need for HR talent and expertise
in a self-managed enterprise,” said
Kirkpatrick. “It would look less like an
airport control tower and more like members
of a soccer team out on the field with
their fellow colleagues facilitating, coaching,
guiding and consulting. It would be
trying to drive better or more effective
self management whatever way possible
through communication, negotiation and
mediation.”
At Avema, that’s the way it’s playing out.
Storto says the benefits far outweigh the
growing pains associated with the system.
“Everybody enjoys coming to work
here,” said Storto. “Nobody’s watching
over anyone. I decide a time that works for
me to come in today, what I’ll work on and
how I’ll do it. I have the power to make
decisions and I don’t have to wait for approval
or permission from managers.”
This kind of shared leadership has also
resulted in a tighter-knit community within
the office.
“Colleague relationships have strengthened.
We’re constantly giving feedback and
having discussions. It’s a very open environment,”
said Storto. “I’ve never been at a
company with such high morale.” n
“NOBODY SITS BACK HERE AND
LETS SOMEBODY ELSE TAKE THE
STEERING WHEEL. WE’RE ALL
ACCOUNTABLE FOR EVERYTHING WE
DO, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A GROUP.”
– PATRICK STORTO, ACCOUNTING, AVEMA
40 ❚ JANUARY 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL