New management styles and why we choose them

Many organizations follow, even today, what is called “a rational approach” to management. What is it and why do they use it? Well, a rational approach involves standardization and formalization, with very specific hierarchical positions at the company, very clear roles and goals. The problem with this approach to management is that, although it may work well for certain industries, it has almost no flexibility and no room for change.

So, what do we think about management at Virtualmind?

• We believe in horizontal management. 

Top-to-bottom company structures are a thing of the past. For us, daily work is a collaborative task, where every team member is an equally important part, a piece of the puzzle that needs to fit in order to achieve a great result. 

• Different roles, but equal responsibility. 

Of course not all of us can know and perform the same tasks: within the organization, we have different roles assigned to the different departments or areas, or according to our skills and experience, but we are all responsible for making things work. We consider ourselves one big team, where each role complements the others. 

• The manager as a facilitator, not a boss

Receiving a leadership title is a great moment for anyone. It means that the company believes they are ready to guide a team into reaching objectives and finding success in their daily tasks. However, we don’t think of a manager as someone who just delegates tasks and gives orders: for us, a great leader is one who can be a part of the team, helping organize things and solving any setbacks that may appear.

• We lead by setting the example

We are leaders, not bosses. And we know very well that the only way people will follow our leadership is by setting an example and being the first to do what we preach. So, it’s not a matter of sending some guidelines and expecting our team to follow them while we look at them from a distance, but rather being together, working hand in hand to achieve our common goals.

So, at this point you may be thinking: “you are saying that the past is worthless.” In fact, nothing can be further from the truth. We are a result of the past, and everything we have learned so far -either the things we want to repeat or the ones that we want to steer clear from- has to do with the lessons that our past experience has taught us. The rational approach to management is no longer useful in our industry, but, as we move along with our new perspectives and methodologies, it is vital that we keep an eye on what we do, seeing what we can learn from the past and how we want to move forward into the future.