Can network design be successful?
There are some companies which prove that Teal organisations can be far more effective than companies with more traditional organisational setups. Their stories are impressive (in the case of the Buurtzorg or Morning Star companies). However, one of the very first ones was Zappos. When it decided to become a Teal organisation, it was heavily criticised. The company was very well-known for having a strong culture of empowerment. A move that changed the organisation of the company into a structure without bosses was seen as an unnecessary and senseless step.
Who is in charge?
The reality is that today's world is full of unprecedented changes. The current emergence of the Teal organisation is really something different from organisational transformations in the past.
Previously transformations were done in the following way: there was a prescribed hierarchy and workers were led by the people who were in charge. There were changes to scale; incentives intended to motivate people were also evolving; leaders needed to change their behaviours. But there still was someone commanding the others.
However, our world today is finally a hyper-connected one. That simply means that all people are available for one other. And in the near future all devices are going to be connected as well. That means that power is no longer derived from being in charge. Today power is held by those who are connected. Power is in the network.
-jk-