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The circles of agency leadership

It's traditional to think of the structure of an organisation as a triangle.

The CEO is at the top and everyone else is arranged in different levels below:

A traditional org-chart showing the CEO at the top and various levels of management on the next levels down.

But this top-down structure brings cultural problems for agencies.

It reinforces the flawed management approach of command and control, with authority at the top being ‘delegated’ down. Lower levels are expected to get permission from those above.

Top-down thinking slows creative businesses like agencies right down, and stifles smart people.

The traditional org chart is about status and power.

That's not what healthy agencies care about at all.

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  1. Gather and radiate