What if organizations could operate without bosses – and still thrive?
Across organizations, HR is increasingly asked to rethink traditional structures and leadership models. As demands for agility, engagement, and trust continue to grow, many HR leaders are exploring new ways of working – where clarity and autonomy take the place of hierarchy and control.
One of these approaches is self-management, where every employee takes full ownership of their work and commitments.
In this session, we were joined by Doug Kirkpatrick, organizational theorist, and a member of the core startup team of Morning Star, one of the world’s most cited examples of a fully self-managed company.
Together, we explored:
- What self-management looks like in practice
- How it challenges traditional views on leadership and HR
- What lessons it holds for those working with culture, people, and organizational development
- What core principles are required – and why they still work
- How to get started
- Whether self-management works with fixed-term contracts and flexible workforce models
We hoped you left with:
- New perceptives on the role of HR in flat or decentralized organizations
- Insights into the design principles of self-managed workplaces
- Reflections from the book Beyond Empowerment, recently released in Danish: Meget mere end empowerment! – Content Publishing.
Speaker:
Doug Kirkpatrick, Management Reimagineer + Founder and CEO, D’Artagnan Advisors
Doug is an author, Forbes speaker, and advisor on self-management and organizational design. He began his career as the first financial controller at Morning Star. He later co-founded the Morning Star Self-Management Institute to share principles of trust-based, non-hierarchical work. Today, he works globally with leaders and organizations through D’Artagnan Advisors.