Elon Musk is apparently the "nothing" of Tesla now. What would an untitled job look like?

Deleted my Tesla titles last week to see what would happen. I am now the nothing of Tesla. Looks good until now.

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2018

The idea of ​​a flat organization without a hierarchy seems good. Who would not want to work in an environment where the only person you had to answer was yourself. I can now imagine some of the benefits: more flexibility, no more micromanagement and more unnecessary decision trees!

There is a problem: when everyone is responsible, no one is responsible. This is the awareness of many Zappos employees after CEO Tony Hsieh set up a management structure called holacracy. That's the realization of Musk's tweet: no more titles, no more bosses. Everyone is responsible for themselves.

What the management team did not take into account, is the amount of confusion generated by such a structure. Even if a world without bosses looks fantastic, the truth is that eliminating an organizational structure is tantamount to pushing your organization into the Wild West.

From the point of view of people management, holacrity is confusing in many areas. I will focus on three:

When everyone has the ability to direct their own work, there are surely redundancies and turbulence. You can try to eliminate double efforts and frustration by improving communication, but ultimately, individual priorities will always be winning.

Job descriptions and hierarchy bring clarity. Without this structure, the members of your organization would be at least disorganized. Successful companies have employees who understand their roles and the roles of others. They are aligned on common and coherent goals.

Another organization that tried the "no boss" was Google. In 2002, he conducted an uncontrolled experiment and removed all managers. It did not go well. In trying to prove that managers were not needed, they actually proved the opposite.

Competent managers not only provided Googlers with the necessary guidance and guidance, but also improved the overall performance of their teams.

Flattening the organization chart has been a common management practice for at least 10 years. Less "layers" allow better communication, more transparency and greater agility. However, the elimination of diapers also eliminates the chances of progression.

When you lean toward a company, it's hard for employees to see the way forward for advancement – and that can be demotivating. Without it, many employees will choose to go looking for greener pastures.

In determining employee compensation, most organizations look at external benchmarks and internal equity. In particular for larger organizations, titles and responsibilities provide essential guidance for determining the amount of compensation.

In the absence of structure, organizations risk unfairly compensating their employees. You must pay the employees fairly in relation to your colleagues. Otherwise, you run the risk of having legal implications and resentment within the teams. It will be extremely difficult to get a fair wage when you can not determine who is someone's colleague.

The idea of ​​a utopian world without hierarchical order seems good, in theory. In reality, this would create unmanageable confusion, insecurity and inefficiency. I am all for the democratization of organizations, but within certain limits. Organizational hierarchies provide effective direction, accountability and communication channels among employees.

Shortly after Musk's initial tweet, he published an update:

The officers of a legally required company are president, treasurer and secretary. I imagine that I have to keep the 1st or it will confuse the authorities.

– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2018