Futocracy case study — final part 6

Cobra Development
By Dr. Reg Butterfield

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Welcome back to the Cobra Development case study. Over the last five weeks we have given some insight into the induction process of June a new member of Cobra Development, a company that has embraced the future of work using Futocracy as its preferred approach.

June’s journey began on 26 March 2023, and she was introduced to a wide range of different insights about how Cobra Development has moved from a traditional hierarchical organisation to one built on Futocracy’s five foundational principles and supporting guidelines, directives, and processes. Whilst we suggest that new readers visit this journey from the beginning, the five foundational principles are shown below.

Reminder of the five Foundational Principles of Futocracy:

Organise around the work

Autonomy — (independence) through distributed authority and decision-making

(Strategic) Entrepreneurial mind-set

Purpose alignment

Transparency

Today, we bring the induction case study to a close with a series of questions and answers that people may be wondering about Futocracy. In doing so, help readers to understand how Futocracy can assist organisations become future-proof and at the same time able to think differently by considering change as part of its daily business.

Let’s start with the basic question,

“How did we decide to develop a new form of organisation?”

A few years ago, my colleague Dr Ross Wirth and I decided to delve deeper into the world of organisations. Our initial idea was to design a new change management approach that meets the emerging technological world and write a book about it. This was born out of an increasing concern that the current models and processes were too linear and predominantly episodic, whereas the need for change is pretty much constant to one degree or another.

During our extensive research it became very clear to us that irrespective of the change model and associated process that we explored, the fundamental problem would not be resolved. Change processes tend to re-order, modify, or update the existing organisational approach that underpins the value chain, which seldom changes.

It was at this stage that a major breakthrough came for us in terms of our thinking and approach to the main research topic — a sustainable form of organisation.

Successful organisations seemed to be ‘built’ for work. Less successful organisations were designed and built for control. Could it be this simple? We examined the ‘non-traditional’ organisations in as much detail as we were able via prior research, media articles, pertinent websites and social media, and discussions with relevant people.

What was very clear to us was that the designs that moved away from the industrial age form of control via hierarchical management systems and associated processes were successful and had been sustainable for long periods, decades in some cases, even though the environment in which they operated had changed significantly.

After additional research across a wide range of sciences and many iterative processes of new thinking, testing, and challenging our assumptions, Futocracy was born. It was at this stage our colleague Silvia Calleja joined us and is now an integral part of our continuing journey of Futocracy.

“What are the key benefits of Futocracy?”

The world of organisations is rapidly changing, driven by advances in technology, new forms of globalisation, changing demographics and societal values. To succeed in this fast-paced and dynamic environment, organisations must adapt to new ways of working and embrace innovation and creativity. Traditional hierarchical organisations are struggling to cope with these changes; the ongoing debates around remote work, gig economy, and changing views of what work means for the emerging workforce are but some examples of the challenges to be met.

Irrespective of how organisations react to these changes, they need to be able to adopt new ways of engaging with their employees with greater emphasis on diversity, equity, adaptability, and inclusion in strategy and decision-making.

Contrary to most other forms of organisational design, Futocracy is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is a set of building blocks that enable any type of organisation to develop and design its own organisation to meet its own needs, interests, and expectations in ways that not only address their concerns but also enable them to meet the increasing societal demands.

These are the key benefits of Futocracy, which enable organisations to have their own unique DNA that not only attracts the people they need, but also provides an environment that means they will stay longer and work collaboratively to achieve the organisation’s purpose, now and in the future.

“Top-down power and authority have been the drivers for successful organisations since the industrial revolution or before. How can Futocracy work without this division of work and authority?”

When organisations decide to move from the traditional hierarchical approach and the associated management systems, they create a new ‘power system’ that suits their own needs, dependent on the nature of the business or other types of operation, such as not-for-profit. How that power system is designed and works is one of the building blocks available to them through Futocracy.

There is no suggestion of leaving a power vacuum, it is about distributing the power and associated authorities differently. The hierarchical and often scalar approach in traditional organisations is too slow and isolated from the locus of decision-making to survive in today’s demanding environment. Futocracy enables management to balance the need for timeliness with appropriate support systems and relevant knowledge and work.

In addition to emphasising personal powers (expert, referent, & relationships) over a traditional reliance on positional powers, Futocracy also leverages the collective power when people work as a team, including the power of convening — something “new” often occurs just by bringing people together for a reason.

“How can we move to this form of distributed authority and decision-making without anarchy or confusion across the organisation?”

This was a major part of our research, and we shared your concern during the initial stages of the Futocracy development process. An important guiding principle for our discussions and research was understanding that the “leadership/management function must precede the leadership/management structure”.

At the same time, it is important to take into account the changing expectations of the people who work within organisations because the form of management needs to reflect what these people see as important. For example, it may be that in a military context the form of management needs to be very different to that of a software company because their people have very different expectations of what leadership and management mean to them. Unfortunately, the top-down command and control system seldom, if ever, makes this distinction in the way it is set up; it relies on the skill and tactics of those charged with leadership and management roles to be effective.

Moving away from tight control over decision-making does not mean there are no controls. Instead of hard, bureaucratic control our Futocracy building blocks encourage people to think about soft control. This is where employee action is guided by Operating Principles and the natural tension between them that provides guardrails for decision-making and encourages ownership of what they do.

“What kind of culture does Futocracy create or need for success?”

Futocracy does not use the term culture in the way that many read about or understand the term to mean. We prefer to use the term “organisational behaviour” because we believe that it includes more than the term culture in the context of organisations. It also focuses on behaviour as opposed to values, espoused, or inferred, as we believe that behaviour is the outcome of individual beliefs and values and as such can be recognised in a more tangible way at both the individual and group level.

With this in mind, the organisational behaviour Futocracy is aiming to be is that of a community, which collaborates as necessary to achieve the purpose of the organisation. In order to create and support this higher-level behaviour of a community the principles and guidelines are designed and used to support behaviours such as those of inclusion, diversity, well-being, equity, personal development, distributed authority and decision-making, and triple-loop learning.

Whilst these may seem to be a list of politically correct behaviours that most organisations publish, a Futocracy-based organisation is designed to foster and encourage such behaviours. Clearly, it is for each organisation to deliver what these behaviours mean and the framework of Futocracy assists in supporting the space and activities to meet the individual organisational standards of acceptable behaviour; individual, group, and organisation.

“I want my organisation to become a great place to work at. Is Futocracy the right approach to create such an organisation?”

Motivation is a key element of being happy and content at work and yet it is one of the most difficult things for traditional organisations to achieve. They tend to use complex performance management systems to ensure that work is done in specific ways, which serves to create an environment of compliance as opposed to motivation. The Big Quit and Quiet Quitting are two current examples of this problem.

To compensate for this many organisations use novel ways of trying to attract and retain people such as free meals, sports facilities, special gifts, and so on. These tend to attract a specific type of person who only stays with the organisation for a short period of up to three years and then moves on because they become bored.

Futocracy focuses on what people really need and look for. For example, one of the key components of motivation is autonomy, which is encouraged by distributing decision-making and authority, as well as by letting each team or group in the network decide the best way to self-manage. Numerous studies indicate that people need a sense of belonging and Futocracy delivers this through not only encouraging a community spirit but also active collaboration across the whole organisation.

It is hard to become bored in a Futocratic organisation because it promotes flexibility and the opportunity to work across the organisation, wherever each person´s skills are required. It also provides individuals with the kind of supportive and open environment that they need to be innovative and try out solutions to the various challenges they face, while at the same time trusting them to get the work done.

We suggest that if you want your organisation to be a great place to work at, then Futocracy is made for you!

“Having a career is important for me, how do I progress in a Futocratic organisation?”

Traditional hierarchical organisations tend to have a well-established single pathway for career advancement; it goes upwards through promotion for most people. In recent times, the flattening of organisations has reduced such a ladder approach significantly and so alternatives are being sought by many organisations; progress to find alternatives is slow.

The Futocracy building blocks used during the development phase recommend alternative ways of approaching the issue and not just considering careers in a hierarchical fashion. It all starts off with breaking away from job descriptions, which have been the foundation of organisations for centuries (see our newsletters 4 and 11 September 2022).

We suggest moving to a ‘skills-based’ approach as this not only helps to reappraise what careers mean, but also forms the basis for a flexible flow of skills across organisations to where they are needed, which is difficult in a world of job descriptions typically linked to the functional divisions or departments in traditional organisations.

We suggest that hierarchy is not always what people want or are capable of achieving in their careers. It is increasingly about meaningful work, learning, and being valued for what people do and are capable of doing. What people do changes over time and with the rapid development of technology, AI, and robotics it is not possible to know what work will be meaningful for people in 3 to 5 years, let alone in a traditional hierarchical career.

“How many levels of hierarchy are there in Futocratic organisation?”

The short answer is none in the conventional way of describing organisational hierarchy. Futocracy is based on collaborative networks with three specific related and interconnected roles.

The largest part of the network is the role of Operations, which is predominantly team-based with a focus on getting the work done. The teams (or groups) are given their mandate and objective (usually based on defined outcomes) by a second and much smaller network known as the Purpose Alignment Team (PaT).

It may seem strange calling a team a network. We do so because the PaT consists of a number of people who have specialist knowledge and experience in the activities needed for the organisation to be effective. For example, they cover the areas of HR, Finance, Engineering, Sales, and so on. Whilst they have no line management responsibility, they have great ability to shape the organisation. By dynamically addressing alignment issues across the organisation, structural dysfunctions do not form a cancer that grows to the point that an aggressive, disruptive reorganisation is required.

Their role includes activities discussed in our newsletters 5 and 12 February 2023. In essence they ensure that the organisation works in such a way as to achieve its Purpose and associated objectives. A member of the PaT is the network weaver, who acts as a coach for the operational teams and a network builder to ensure the ‘health’ of the network and assist in its growth and development. In large organisations the workload needs to be considered and there may be more than one network weaver.

Finally, the CEO and/or board members are the strategic guiding body that sets the direction of the whole organisation. In terms of line management, this is the exception. The CEO line manages the PaT and sets the corporate objectives and metrics.

“As there is no hierarchy in the ‘normal’ sense of the word, how are decisions made?”

Traditionally designed and structured organisations strictly define who may make decisions, which is typically allocated to a position of hierarchy or rank. On occasions they also use the process of delegation to enable designated people outside of this approach to make decisions. Empowerment also includes the right to remove that authority and is at risk of being done for reasons other than operational, such as personality clashes.

Futocracy simplifies and streamlines the process of decision-making. Decisions are made by those involved with the situation as opposed to an authority position that is often removed from that situation. Operating Principles, which include Decision Making Principles, guidelines, directives, and processes are designed to support those who make the decisions.

Whenever possible and feasible, decision-makers use an effectuation approach to decision-making [effectuation is an approach to situations where risk is taken up to the level of an affordable loss as opposed to trying to remove or pass risk to somebody else]. During this process they identify the risks involved and more often than not, use a process of limiting losses to what is affordable. Even the decision-making process itself is flexible by those involved so individual teams alter the process based on the type and magnitude of decision required for the situation.

There is also an explicit understanding that not all decisions will be the best ones when evaluated in hindsight. The key is quickly recognising when a decision is going awry and learning if there may have been something that was overlooked in the decision-making process, so the organisation continues to learn and improve. This links to the triple-loop learning process that we mentioned earlier.

A major and crucial element of this approach is the removal of fear so that people feel confident in making decisions, knowing that they will be supported if what they did was reasonable in the circumstances prevailing.

“How are conflicts managed?”

When people work or live together, conflict of some sort is inevitable. Conflict can be a very good source of opportunity for new ideas, innovations, and learning yet it is often seen as a negative situation. Organisations designed on the principles of Futocracy see conflict in both ways, positive and negative.

The ways that the teams and groups work focus on collaboration and as such people are encouraged to find ways of managing conflict by bringing to notice situations of potential conflict and discussing them. Open, transparent discussions are a crucial part of life in a Futocratic organisation, which helps to foster non-confliction relationships.

On those rare occasions where conflict seems intractable the role of the “Network Weaver” is important. The network weaver acts as a coach and arbiter and works with the people involved to assist them to find an amicable solution and, where possible, avoid compromises. Compromises tend to create future conflicts as one or both parties can feel wronged or unhappy with compromise outcomes.

The unwritten rule of Futocracy is “conflict is a source of opportunity and not about right or wrong”. For more discussion around conflict see our newsletter 11 December 2022.

“A lot of people are angry about the way that Working from Home is or not being implemented by organisations. How does a Futocratic organisation manage this situation?”

This is probably the easiest question to answer so far. Traditional organisations are based on the need to control people and work, which makes it complicated when people are not all together at one location. The arguments put forward against working remotely (mainly around WFH) are that traditional management processes and performance management systems are difficult to maintain in such working conditions.

Futocracy’s approach is to focus on achieving and supporting the process of work as opposed to control. This means that when deciding whether a person or role can be undertaken remotely is raised the starting point is, “where can this work be undertaken?”

If it can be undertaken remotely, then it only leaves a discussion around health & safety, how can the welfare of the people be maintained, and so on. It may be that some aspects of the work can be undertaken remotely, whilst other aspects cannot. Each team then reviews how the work is done and agrees on the best way to achieve that work and where it is undertaken.

“There is much discussion about Leadership and Management currently. What do these terms mean for organisations using the Futocracy approach to work?”

This is an excellent question for us to finish with today.

At some stage in recent history the term leadership became an important buzz word in the training and consultancy world. It has led to a multi-billion industry of just about all major currencies, yet the debate still rages on; what is leadership?

In this debate the term management seemed to have gotten lost until the Covid situation helped people realise that management of all aspects of the business was necessary and not just lots of people behaving as leaders. At the same time, the whole discussion was based on the traditional types of hierarchical organisations, which made finding solutions difficult because of the assumptions around hierarchy and control. Post-Covid, the discussion to find solutions for remote working (including its management) and the reluctance of people to return to normal business practices still continues.

Futocratic organisations use the concepts of leadership and management differently and as such giving direction and making sure that work gets done takes a different path.

It is our view that organisations should have just one leader, the CEO with the support of the Board. This person sets the strategic direction and goals of the organisation, which are designed to achieve the purpose of the organisation and any associated financial imperatives. The role also provides an outside point of contact that is often required by regulatory agencies or the establishment of strategic partnerships that can then be carried forward by others.

The rest of the organisation is managed in some way to achieve those objectives. During this process, some people will inevitably need to use skills associated with the commonly understood activity of a leader at some stage in order to achieve a desired outcome. However, management is still focused on how to support people and get work done.

In our earlier response to the question regarding hierarchy, we mentioned the strategic direction being set by the CEO and/or Board; this is the leadership role.

The management roles are undertaken in a variety of ways depending on what needs to be managed and the nature of the work being undertaken. The Purpose Alignment Team (PaT), which we mentioned in that earlier response, is a team that manages the optimisation of all the resources of the organisation to achieve the goals set by the CEO. They do this in a variety of ways that are discussed in our newsletter 12 February 2023, and we do not have space here to go into the details. The important point to clarify is that, unlike traditional organisations, this form of management has no line authority and manages systems predominantly, not people.

The management process in real terms of management is undertaken by the teams working in the operational networks. This is done in a range of approaches with each team deciding on what is the best way for them in order to achieve their mandated (by the PaT) outcomes.

Futocracy follows the ideology that “the leadership function must precede the leadership structure, and that the management of a team or group must undertake the performance of some function that the team or group considers important for fulfilling its purpose”.

How the management function is defined is a team/group decision. Some teams/groups will prefer to designate an individual in their team/group. Others will prefer to have a different person depending on where they are in the process of achieving their work outcomes, whilst others will prefer a more team/group consensus type of approach.

Whatever decision is made about ‘team management’ it is not irreversible and can be changed if necessary for operational or other reasons. Such changes are made with the network weaver assisting the teams in their decision-making process if necessary.

The management focus is for the team/group to get the work done in the best possible environment.

One final note about the term manager. The word has an inherent meaning for all people based on their experience and understanding of the use of the word manager. We prefer to use the term Facilitator instead of manager. We believe that the inherent understanding of this word is more in line with what a ‘manager’ actually does in a Futocratic organisation.

However, the term management in our writing and Futocratic approach to work is a more generic term that encompasses both leader and facilitator.

This brings our induction journey to an end. We hope that the last six weeks have been helpful for those wanting to know more about Futocracy and how it works.

For more information and answers to questions please visit our parent platform at:

https://www.futocracy.network/

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