For someone who grew up on a farm, there is no better example of a flat organization than farming. When it comes to doing labor on the farm, all share equally in the efforts. There are no egos, titles, seniority, age, or education that distinguishes who is engaged and with what they are engaged in doing. Everyone just rolls up their sleeves and gets the job done. We reference this with one of our organization’s values: “The Farmers Mentality.” As I look at traditional organizations, some of the same benefits can be achieved just like we had on the farm. Having a flat organization can have many benefits like faster decision making, improved communication, increased team members’ independence, improved engagement, greater innovation, flexibility, and reduced overhead costs are just a few. The flatter your organization is the more you remove middle management bureaucracy resulting in team members being closer to top leadership and the decision-making process.

Benefits

• Information will flow directly and transparently between team members and leadership. This leads to reduced risk of information getting lost or corrupted through a long chain of communication strings and misinterpretations. Direct lines of communication between team members and their coaches will foster more open dialogue, better collaboration, and idea sharing.

• Team members in a flat structure are often empowered with additional responsibility and the authority to make decisions. In a flat environment team members feel more trusted and valued when given more independence.  The result leads to higher job satisfaction, motivation, loyalty, and a greater sense of ownership in the company’s success and ultimately reduced turnover.

• Agility, flexibility and less bureaucracy allows organization to pivot and adapt more quickly to market changes. The impact is giving organizations like ours in technology a competitive edge.
• The flat environment allows and encourages team members to share ideas and take initiative without dealing with organizational red tape. A side effect of flat organization is inspiring creativity, innovation and helping to adapt to new challenges and opportunities quicker.
• Fewer layers of management mean quicker communication and approval, allowing the organization to react to opportunities and challenges more spontaneously.
• Eliminating unnecessary middle management layers can reduce overhead costs and allow reinvestment in people and products versus bureaucracy, justification and approval layers.
• Team members take more personal responsibility for outcomes, feeling a stronger connection to the organization overall WIG’s (Wildly Important Goals).
• In a flat organization there is more opportunity to lead by example. Many times, you may be a player coach where you are actively doing what you are teaching. Ex: A sales manager who is also making customers calls not just sitting behind desk handing out quotas, or a technical manager who needs to keep his skills up to date as he still carries a tool bag in helping when need arises.

After working in a large organization where we had multiple layers of management: national, regional, district and local, I wanted to get back to something more like my roots: the “Farmers Mentality.” I’ve always felt a flat organization has more potential to boost agility, innovation, and team member engagement, and it will lead to faster decisions, improved communication, and greater independence for staff. The flatter organization will feel more empowered and more engaged in organization success, resulting in increased productivity, loyalty, and longevity. A flat structure fosters a culture of ownership and encourages collaboration, while helping organizations adapt quickly to market changes. Flat organizations can help create greater efficiency, innovation and allow you to use your financial resources most effectively.