The workplace is no longer a pyramid. Managers today need to build relationships with workers not on the basis of structure and seniority, but on warmth and humanity. This article explains how.

1. “Quick, look busy!” The
death of social hierarchy
in the workplace

2. ACCORDING TO HARVARD

3. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE
COMMUNICATION

4. Two researchers (with
the brilliant names of
Grosyberg and Slind)
believe that leadership
is a conversation.

5. In today’s workplace, directions from
managers are much closer to
a two-way chat
than a series of pronouncements
from above.

6. What’s the mark of
managers who do this
successfully?

7. CULTIVATING CONNECTIONS
at all levels of the company.

8. Such leaders
tend to be
relaxed -
open-collar types with
good humour.

9. Like
SIR RICHARD BRANSON...

10. who can be seen here
posing for a
photo next
to a sleeping
employee.

11. The good news:
it isn’t necessary to be in
constant physical reach of the
employees you’re trying to
build bonds with.

12. What works is being
approachable -
conveying that you can be tolerant
of errors (within reason) and
showing that you’re willing to
discuss different courses of action
for members of your team.

13. Essentially what’s needed
is a sense of fun!

14. “Physical proximity between leaders and
employees isn’t always feasible. Nor is it
essential. What is essential is mental or
emotional proximity.”
- HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

15. What’s interesting is what
technology
can add to this.

16. Cisco
(an Arkadin
business partner)
found that the larger a
person’s face is during a
videoconference, the more
engaged and interested the
audience will be.

17. Once the talking
head is smaller than
80%of actual size, this
effect diminishes.
Perhaps that’s why so many companies find
high-bandwidth videoconferencing so useful.

18. ACCORDING TO SLOAN

19. THE UNPREPARED ONES AREN’T
WHO YOU THINK THEY ARE

20. The Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology (MIT)
knows a thing or two about the
digital workplace.

21. A five-author paper from the MIT’s Sloan School
of Management has some great insight on how
you can align your organisation in anticipation of
a socially-level future…

22. 90%of respondents expected
digital trends to disrupt
their businesses...
The key statistic from their survey:

23. But only
44%said they felt
ready for it.

24. That means nearly
half of businesses
feel unprepared for the tsunami
of BYOD (Bring Your Own
Device), remote working, flexible
hours, and virtual teams that is
redefining workforces around
the world.

25. “More than 75% of digitally maturing
organizations surveyed provide their
employees with resources and opportunities
to develop their digital acumen, compared to
only 14% of early-stage companies.”
- MIT Sloan

26. But there’s a
silver lining.
Surprisingly, this lack of
preparedness was more
pronounced in smaller
companies than larger ones.

27. In other words, the larger businesses that employ
most people are making active efforts to introduce
new technology, train workers effectively, and
encourage use of today’s less hierarchical, more
egalitarian communications channels...

28. from simple teleconferencing to full
unified communications.

29. In this world, a
worker is as likely
to be chatting
away with the CEO
as with someone who shares
his job description. And if you
want to flatten the social
pyramid, that’s a great way to
do it.

30. ACCORDING TO INSEAD

31. FOSTER A CULTURE OF
SPEAKING TRUTH
TO POWER

32. In Medieval Europe, every king had a
“fool”
who’d give his boss the plain hard
truths which other subordinates
would try to sugarcoat.

33. A recent article
from European
b-school INSEAD
stated that modern
workplaces still have this
same need - referring to the
present day equivalent of the
court jester as a “morosoph”...

34. “Morosophs are important foils for leaders.
By virtue of their position, they have the
“legitimacy” to act as voices of honest and
intelligent critique, providing a stabilising
force, or a reality check, in organisational life.”
- INSEAD

35. So in today's
flat professional
landscape, should
everybody be a fool?

36. After all, there are benefits to employees speaking
out against decisions made by their seniors...

37. The furore over this
tin-eared TV ad from
Pepsi
springs to mind…

38. Perhaps if there’d been enough people
within the organisation who felt that
they were able to speak out, the
insulting ad would never have aired.

39. The lesson
is clear:
listen to dissenting voices and
keep the conversation going.

40. Let your team
know that it’s
fine to speak up.

41. ACCORDING TO OXFORD

42. NEVER BELIEVE
IT’S NOT POLITICAL

43. For our fourth
and final insight
we turn to the University
of Oxford’s Saïd Business
School…

44. However warm and fuzzy you want
your organisation to be, reaching
the end goal - a flat org chart - is a
deeply political process.

45. If you want to move power
away from the top,
you need to
wield it from
the top first!

46. “It has long been recognised that
organisational change is a political process,
but what is still not properly understood is
the relationship between organisational and
individual power.”
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD SAÏD BUSINESS SCHOOL

47. Takeaways
Flattening the corporate org chart lets talent shine
at every level
Management today is about communication,
not control
Technology can bring together remote and flexible
workers seamlessly
Removing hierarchies doesn’t happen by accident -
it requires a proactive approach
In many sectors, large companies are more prepared
for a socialised workplace than smaller ones

48. Break down the silos of your organisation
and proactively drive cross departmental
alignment with our latest eGuide:
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49. Sources
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3632622/Virgin-Australia-employee-caught-napping-couch-company-founder-
Richard-Branson-joked-did-shock-woke-up.html
http://thelegacyproject.co.za/2015/06/quotes-from-sir-richard-branson-entrepreneur-founder-of-the-virgin-group/
https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/oxfordtrainees/tag/said-business-school/