Are you a traditional Manager?

From life experience and many managing courses I've been, everyone seems to believe in a certain managing method: Authority- based hierarchy, position-created respect and power. But more and more companies are applying unorthodox methods for keeping their employees 'in place'. The standard hierarchy that every company used to apply, where the CEO is the one stating the rules and everybody else needs to abide by seems to be changing.

 

However in Suriname, it appears that most companies are still keeping this mind-set. Mostly because the companies are a family-owned business or a one-man show, where what the owner says goes. Or even the managing director or CEO, who believes he/she is all mighty and powerful to make you or break you. Slowly, but successfully many have proven that there are more people-friendly ways to keep your employees in-line.

One of the most popular and employee-friendly companies is Google. Of course I don't know what happens internally, but what outsiders like me see and read about is that their employee benefits are really great, the environment is super relax and even a bit like being on campus again. That is one of the reasons why people are dying to work for Google. Their compensation should be also satisfying I believe otherwise most might have considered otherwise. They even have their '8 rules how to be a good boss' here

The reason I'm blogging about this is that I just read an article about Yata's CEO, Daniel Chong, who is also using a different approach than the traditional way towards his employees. It goes as far as that he doesn't see and mention them as their employees, but as colleagues.

The article I read was in Chinese, but it made me so curious that I googled him a bit. Here is an article in English, so that you can read a bit about my curiosity. Although he's CEO of a big supermarket chain, he's still plain simple and down-to-earth, because he believes that everything he's achieved is teamwork, in which he only plays a single role. And I'm starting to wonder if their humbleness, which you see it in the way they dress (see Bill Gates and Daniel Chong), is what makes them so successful as CEO's.

Where most CEO's insist on making the final decision on every single part of anything, he gives the employees the ultimate freedom to create and explore and only intervene if he foresee problems or issues needs to be solved.

 

However the freedom seems so nice to have, but I have to say that I kinda believe in a mix of the traditional way and the unorthodox way. I do believe that the CEO is just a position and his job is to assist his employees, so that they can work efficiently and accurately, but a certain authority needs to exist to keep everyone in line. A organizational chart with lots of empowerment.

Probably that originates from my hospitality background.
As a supervisor intern in the food and beverage department of a well-known hotel chain, it was clear to me that however I'm the one with authority, I was the one to create a healthy environment, where the waiting staff can make sure to keep the guests happy and the kitchen staff to create their magic without any sabotage. And one thing I always communicated with the staff: " Help me help you, so that we can create a great experience for the guests!!"