Management belongs onto the garbage heap of history

This interview with Niels Pflaeging was originally published by Baltic Forge.

Today's organizations, by and large, are in a mess. Our societies, economies and markets have changed, but companies and the way we organize work overall, haven’t: Organizations are still based on beliefs, design principles and methods inherited from the industrial age. Managers assume employees cannot be trusted. Collaboration happens, if at all, in spite of, not because of dominant mindsets and tools: functional division, control processes, HR practices, pay structures and incentive systems, power monopolies, lack of transparency, bosses rule, high levels of bureaucracy, overburdening planning and variance control – command-and-control is very much alive and kicking in companies and work places everywhere. The result: Demotivated workforces and low employee engagement. But also: Lack of team effectiveness, little innovation, and overall poor competitive performance.