Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager, Second Edition

A Different Kind of DNA

Flat. It’s an organizational meme in rapidly growing teams in Silicon Valley, and it contains a couple of noble ideas. Simply put, a flat organization is one with as little hierarchy as possible to encourage the individual voice. What’s not to love?

The first challenge to the flat organizational mantra is the inevitable arrival of leads or managers tasked with organizing different aspects of the team. The flat religion’s answer to this development is rebranding of the role: the lead or manager is no different from the individual. It’s not a promotion, there is no raise; it’s just a different gig. There is no difference ...