Future of WorkGoodbye to the hierarchy! 5 reasons why Network Maps are the new organizational model

A new world, hyperconnected

The world is becoming progressively more and more digital, societies hyper-connected and less predictable. For every company in every industry, these changes imply major shifts in management. Technology: social networks, mobility, big data, the cloud and all the other new tools change our way of working. Thus, they also bring changes to our management models. For example, Network Map management is becoming the new preferred organizational model. It appeared thanks to this century of knowledge and is guided by the desire of individuals to contribute more to companies. Organizations now face the challenge of adapting their structures and processes to a new reality. 

The near future is becoming more and more different from the past. In order to survive and win, new skills and new training are required, and with those, different management models. The best management model cannot be reduced to a hierarchical model anymore, and Network Map management models are stepping into the spotlight. 

 

Why the hierarchical model is becoming obsolete

The traditional management model of the industrial age, the hierarchical and bureaucratic model, is the most ancient organizational model. In this model, things work in vertical order, a few people think and others execute. This type of company’s management order is defined with levels of command, someone at the top and someone at the bottom. The traditional enterprises, developed especially during the nineteenth century, were strictly hierarchical. The most obvious hierarchical organization is the army. In this type of organization, all members are fully aware of their mission, tasks and responsibilities and also of their limits. The boundaries of the workstation are clearly communicated and those rules cannot be broken unless senior management grants permission. This makes liberty in action almost nonexistent.

However, as mentioned, our world is changing, and with it, the way we work. Is the industrial management model of hierarchy still the best for this new modern, hyperconnected world?

 

 Network Maps: what are they? 

Network Maps are a new paradigm that chart a bold new path to building the organizations of the future. They work as horizontal networks, deprived of hierarchy. It is a different management point of view in which everyone can contribute, focusing on collective effort.

Networks create an alternative order in organizations. A Network Map is a new organisational structure designed for a new interconnected world. They complement the organizational structures inherited from the past and provide an intelligent approach to stay competitive faced with constant change. Hierarchical models have shown to ensure predictability, sustainability and results. However, Network Maps also ensure this. The model does so using a new way of connecting with the collective experience, to innovate and to foster creativity. Moreover,  the model seeks collective answers because challenges companies face are very complex, and more than one person can have the solution to these problems.

Departments and job definition are the basic components of the hierarchical structure. The multidisciplinary teams are the basic components of the Network Maps, as an innovation structure. Fluidity is the overall goal. Within teams, the processes are agile, leadership and innovation is everyone’s job. Such a structure increases the capacity to adapt and change the entire structure, facilitating collective innovation and corporate entrepreneurship.

 

5 reasons why Network Maps are the new management model

Network Maps can ensure everything a hierarchical system does, but can also provide more for an organization. Collaborative intelligence through Network Map management supports the creation, selection and translation of ideas into concrete business initiatives, with progress metrics and results in management.

1. • Innovation

The starting point is to create and foster an appropriate environment, allowing specific time and resources to be devoted to collective innovation.

It is necessary to have a collaborative platform, combining learning with innovation capabilities, as well as to establish a guiding community, encouraging new behaviours and ways of becoming collaborative, sharing a common purpose that is aligned with the strategic challenges facing the organization. Such liberty, collaboration and fluidity boost innovative capacities. 

1. • Creativity 

Collaborative management strategies such as Network Maps allow more freedom for workers, as they are not limited to what their defined job position. Each professional should be aware of their skills, strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. That way, they can see which type of environment they will thrive in, which will result in bolstering creativity.

1. • Competitivity

Competitivity in this world is based precisely on the ability of an organization to interact with, adapt and master this everchanging new reality. Being able to exploit the possibilities of a new hyper-connected world can be done through Network Map management, thanks to the flexibility it presents from within the organization. Prospering and maintaining a good level of competition in this new context requires making digital transformations a strategic objective in organizations. Network Maps have shown to be more adaptable, and less vulnerable to change, through collective intelligence. 

1. • Better communication 

Collaborative intelligence, in teams and in the horizontal way Network Maps allow facilitates communication drastically. Not only from manager to subordinate but also the other way around, between colleagues, between higher-ups and everyone in the organization. This allows accelerating the development of initiatives that bring more value to the organization as a whole. Good communication is crucial in organizations, as it allows economies of scale on time and works quality.

1. • A better comprehension of tasks and increased productivity

Another positive aspect about Network Maps, teams and collaborative intelligence is the fluidity and easy comprehension of tasks. Through the improved communication, tasks are understood faster, executed better and it creates a virtuous cycle of productivity. 

 

The two alternative management models are very different. The hierarchical model is a management method by control and the Network Map is a management method by context and network. A network and collective intelligence based organizational model is essential for any organization wishing to compete in a world of accelerated change. Such a model allows companies to innovate, adapt and interact with the new reality, as well as optimize overall productivity.

Therefore, we can say that the Network Map is a new organizational order that uses greater autonomy and personal commitment, facilitates collaboration and creativity, allows for distributed decision-making an excellent capability to adapt to changes.