"Is this really humanist, or just flatter?"
The org chart is gone. Dreamers and makers work directly together. No permission gates, no middle layers. It sounds… humanist, right? I watched an inspiring talk recently, about a large Chinese company that dismantled its hierarchy and split into 4,000 autonomous startups. Each team worked directly with the people experiencing the problem. They had full decision-making power, what to build, how much to invest, when to pivot. No middle managers. No gatekeepers. The speaker called it a “humanist” organization. And I get the appeal. When the people imagining solutions work shoulder-to-shoulder with the people building them, something unlocks. There’s more energy, more ownership, and a stronger sense of impact. It’s a massive step in the right direction. But is it enough to call it humanist? Removing bureaucracy helps. It clears the path for ideas and action. But humanism, to me, is not about how flat the structure is. It’s about how deep the dialogue goes. You can have a flat structure and still have silence. Still have the loudest voice winning. Still have people holding back what they really think or need. You can also have hierarchy, and even customer proxies, and still build a humanist environment. One where people feel heard, not just consulted. One where decisions emerge from shared understanding, not role-based control. One where the space between people is alive with learning and mutual respect. A flatter org can support autonomy. But humanism isn’t the absence of structure, it’s the presence of dialogue that encourages diversity of thought. It’s not just about removing blockers. It’s about building relationships that let us be honest, brave, and connected in the work. So if you, like most of us, work in a traditional hierarchy, don’t despair. Focus on broadening and deepening the local interactions around you. You don’t need to dismantle the system to make space for humanity. Humanist bubbles can thrive anywhere. And when they do, something novel always begins to emerge. What do you think makes an organization truly humanist? Until next time, ✉️ Enjoying The Messy Middle? If someone sent this email your way and you’d like to get it direct, you can sign up here. |