Author and consultant Gary Hamel writes in the preface to his latest book, The Future of Management, that, “Management is out of date.  Like the combustion engine, it’s a technology that has largely stopped evolving and that’s not good.”

Hamel challenges leaders and managers to eliminate the toxic effects of legacy management practices and innovate in ways that create “organizations that are capable of spontaneous renewal” and “companies that actually deserve the passion and creativity of the folks who work there, and naturally elicit the very best that people have to give.”

Noble thoughts that I agree with and that I espouse at every available opportunity.  Unfortunately, many firms and many top leaders are still stuck in the Managers Manager and Workers Work era that Frederick Taylor ushered in over 100 years ago.   The number of teams and ideas that I see held hostage to adjudication by these out-of-date, out-of-touch and hopefully, out-of-time command and control leaders is shocking.  Please, set your people free.

One organization and leader that has gained a great deal of coverage for ushering in new approaches to managing is Cisco Systems and its CEO, John Chambers.  The interview with Chambers, “Cisco Sees the Future” in the November, 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review is must-read material for anyone interested in the cutting edge of management innovation as well as some profound thoughts on identifying and exploiting market transitions and disruptions.

Cisco has effectively flattened its organization and now operates with a small executive team and manages its priorities by cross-functional, collaborative councils and boards. Chambers indicates that the impact is: “This companywide council-based leadership model has allowed us to move from taking only one or two cross-functional priorities a year in the past to addressing 22 this year.” He goes on to add, “We think this is what organizations of the future will look like and that this 21st century leadership style will be a major competitive advantage for us over the next decade.”

At this point, I’ll stop quoting the article…it’s worth taking a look at on your own.  However, what I found most interesting aside from the insights into the structure, management and results of the many cross functional teams, was the fortitude that Cisco and Chambers showed in adopting this new management model.  You get the impression that the gains did not come without considerable pain.  Over 20% of the executives washed out of the new collaborative model, and in essence, the entire culture had to change. Chambers even confesses to the challenges that he had in changing his own style from one of command and control, provide the answers and direct the troops to one of letting teams solve problems and then execute.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Seven years in the making, the results of this new management model at Cisco are encouraging.  Of course, time will tell if Cisco has truly changed, as well as defined and implemented what can truly be called a management innovation.

I suspect that Chambers and Cisco are closer to right than wrong on their approach.  It’s an exciting time to be leading as the pendulum seems to be swinging away from a style of leading and working that minimized the value of the individual to one that emphasizes empowerment, creativity and the freedom for groups and individuals to think and act.   It’s hard to imagine a future where this formula does not produce winners.  Of course, the proof as they say is in the pudding.