The rapid pace of change is challenging traditional organizational structures, which often struggle to adapt quickly to unexpected challenges. In response to these limitations, a new model has emerged: Adhocracy.
Unlike conventional organizational models, Adhocracy empowers those closest to the work to make decisions [1, 2, 3], particularly in situations that demand swift responses. For instance, when a component fails in a product development process, it’s the team members involved—not the executives—who are best equipped to address the issue. This distributed decision-making approach enables organizations to pivot quickly and solve problems effectively.
In an increasingly unpredictable world, the ability to make "ad hoc" decisions is no longer optional—it’s essential for survival and success. By giving decision-making authority to those with the most relevant knowledge, organizations can navigate uncertainty and seize opportunities.
In this article, we’ll explore what Adhocracy is and why its principles should play a central role in shaping next generation companies.
What is Adhocracy?
Definition
Adhocracy is an organizational approach where experts from different fields work together in teams to tackle strategic goals and deliver unique results (think of NASA or Boeing) [5].
First introduced in the early 1970s [1, 2] and later popularized by renowned management expert Henry Mintzberg in the late 1980s [3], Adhocracy is both a management philosophy and an organizational structure. Unlike rigid hierarchical models [4], it focuses on adaptability, giving individuals the power to take initiative and make decisions in real time.
Why is Adhocracy Relevant Today?
The 21st-century workplace demands agility, flexibility, and continuous adaptation. With globalization, rapid technological advancements, political volatility, and evolving consumer expectations, organizations must stay responsive to remain competitive. This environment is often described by the term VUCA—Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
Adhocracy addresses these challenges by promoting decentralized decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, and individual autonomy (just like in self-management). Here’s a breakdown of the numerous advantages it offers [5]:
- Responding rapidly to change: By avoiding rigid processes, adhocracies can pivot swiftly in response to market shifts or crises [7].
- Enhancing employee engagement: Expertise-based roles empower employees to contribute meaningfully, boosting job satisfaction and motivation [9]. As a result, they feel more invested in the work.
- Breaking down silos: Cross-functional teams foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing across departments [10].
- Fostering Innovation: Adhocratic organizations encourage employees to think creatively, act autonomously, and experiment with new ideas [8]. For instance, organizations like Booking.com have excelled in building a culture of experimentation, allowing teams to test and implement innovative solutions swiftly.
Simply put, Adhocracy decentralizes strategy and decision-making to the team level. By combining this approach with higher levels of individual autonomy—such as in self-managing teams—adhocracy equips organizations to effectively navigate the complexities and challenges of the 21st-century workplace.
Real-World Examples of Adhocracy Cultures
- Google: Known for its innovative culture, Google encourages employees to spend 20% of their time on passion projects, leading to groundbreaking initiatives like Gmail and Google Maps [11].
- Spotify: Fosters creativity and quick decision-making by organizing into small, autonomous squads, each responsible for a specific aspect of the product.
- IBM: The company’s rapid development cycles and focus on iterative problem-solving are hallmarks of adhocracy [12].
Is Adhocracy the Answer to Everything?
Not entirely. While its tools and principles can be highly effective, success depends on finding the right combination tailored to your organization’s goals and challenges. Adhocracy challenges traditional ideas of “ideal” organizational structures, such as bureaucracies with strict managerial hierarchies [13]. Advocates of Adhocracy emphasize that organizational structures should be adaptable and context-driven, allowing decisions to align with the specific needs of each situation [4].
Adhocracy enables organizations to remain flexible and responsive, through a tailored framework [13]. Key characteristics include:
- Dynamic project teams: Teams are formed on-demand based on the specific requirements of each project, promoting agility and focus.
- Specialized expertise: Experts are housed in dedicated units for administrative and operational purposes, but are temporarily assigned to multidisciplinary teams for project-specific tasks [15, 16].
- Mutual adjustment: Teams make ad hoc decisions guided by the interactions and feedback between teams rather than relying solely on managerial oversight. Tools like liaison personnel and standing committees facilitate collaboration without adding unnecessary rigidity [6].
- Minimal formalization: Coordination is achieved without relying heavily on direct supervision or standardized processes. Instead, organizations minimize the use of hierarchies, performance controls, and rigid rules to maintain flexibility [17].
- Selective decentralization: Decision-making power is distributed unevenly, ensuring decisions are made by those with the right information and expertise to address specific issues effectively [9].
Adhocracy & Other Organizational Models
To put Adhocracy into context, it’s helpful to compare it with other common organizational models:
- Bureaucracy: Characterized by a strict hierarchy, clearly defined roles, and a focus on rules and procedures. While it provides stability and predictability, it can be slow to adapt to change [18].
- Self-Management: Based on shared values, teamwork, and a sense of community. Self-managed organizations prioritize employee autonomy, distributed authority, and collaboration, often within clearly established rules and boundaries [9, 19].
- Agile: Adhocracy shares similarities with frameworks like Agile or Scrum, which also emphasize flexibility and responsiveness. However, Agile and Scrum are more practical methodologies, while Adhocracy serves as a broader organizational principle.
- Adhocracy: Adhocracy stands apart as a more informal and dynamic organizational model. Unlike bureaucracy, it rejects rigid hierarchies and prioritizes innovation and adaptability over stability. Compared to self-management, adhocracy is less about community-driven governance and more about flexibility. Unlike Agile, which focuses on guiding project or team workflows, adhocracy shapes the overall structure and culture of an organization to thrive in uncertainty [4].
By understanding where Adhocracy fits among other models, it becomes clear why it is particularly well-appreciated in industries such as technology, entertainment, and consulting.
Besides its structure and benefits, the cultural mindset surrounding adhocracy is equally important. As Henry Mintzberg explained, a culture of curiosity is essential for organizations to fully leverage the potential of Adhocracy. For a deeper dive into his insights, check out his 2010 TEDx Talk:
The Quick Read
In response to the question, “What is Adhocracy, and why should you consider it for your organization?”, we can say that it’s not simply a matter of switching to a flexible structure and expecting immediate results. There are multiple factors and countless moving parts to navigate. Does that make it impractical? No!
Adhocracy is a dynamic and adaptive organizational model that enables companies to respond to rapid change, foster innovation, and improve collaboration. By decentralizing decision-making and forming fluid, project-based teams, Adhocracy helps organizations tackle complexity and uncertainty head-on. With its emphasis on agility, cross-functional collaboration, and minimal formalization, it provides the perfect framework for driving creativity and responsiveness.
Tools like Talkspirit can help organizations implement adhocratic principles by offering structures to visualize roles, projects, and team dynamics, helping organizations unlock their full potential.
Want to learn more about organizational models and the tools needed to implement them? Check out our latest white paper, “The Ultimate Guide to Organizational Models” 👇
Access White Paper
In our white paper "The Ultimate Guide to Organizational Models", you'll get: a comprehensive overview of innovative organizational models (like Agile, Teal, Holacracy, Constitutional Management, and more), testimonials from pioneer organizations that have successfully adopted it, best practices for choosing, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of our model, as well as digital tools to facilitate the transition.
References
[1] Bennis, W. G., & Slater, P. L. (1964). The temporary society. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
[2] Toffler, A. (1970). Future shock. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
[3] Mintzberg, H. (1979). The structuring of organizations: A synthesis of research. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
[4] Mintzberg, H., & McHugh, A. (1985). Strategy formation in an adhocracy. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30(2), 160–197. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393104
[5] Martela, F. (2019). What makes self-managing organizations novel? Comparing how Weberian bureaucracy, Mintzberg’s adhocracy, and self-organizing solve six fundamental problems of organizing. Journal of Organization Design, 8(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41469-019-0043-5
[6] Argyris, C. (1957). The individual and organization: Some problems of mutual adjustment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2390612
[7] Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing organizations: A guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage of human consciousness (First edition, revised). Nelson Parker.
[8] Reisinger, H., & Fetterer, D. (2021, October 29). Forget flexibility. Your employees want autonomy. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/10/forget-flexibility-your-employees-want-autonomy
[9] Lee, M. Y., & Edmondson, A. C. (2017). Self-managing organizations: Exploring the limits of less-hierarchical organizing. Research in Organizational Behavior, 37, 35–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2017.10.002
[10] Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E., & Marrone, J. A. (2007). Shared leadership in teams: An investigation of antecedent conditions and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5), 1217–1234. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20159921
[11] Edelman, B., & Eisenmann, T. R. (2010). Google Inc. Harvard Business School Case 910-036 (Revised April 2011).
[12] Birkinshaw, J., & Ridderstråle, J. (2010). Adhocracy for an agile age. Organization Science, 22(5), 1286–1296.
[13] Nefzger, B. (1965). The ideal-type: Some conceptions and misconceptions. The Sociological Quarterly, 6(2), 166–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1965.tb01646.x
[14] Mintzberg, H. (1991). The effective organization: Forces and forms. MIT Sloan Management Review, 32(2), 54–67.
[15] Monteiro, P. (2024). Hiding in plain sight: Expertise (in)visibilities and (mis)matches in modern organizational structures. [Manuscript in preparation].
[16] Monteiro, P. (2024). Generating, grading, and ghosting: How organizing experts shapes expertise. Journal of Management Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.2024
[17] Bodewes, W. E. (2002). Formalization and innovation revisited. European Journal of Innovation Management, 5(4), 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/14601060210453092
[18] Foss, N. J., & Klein, P. G. (2012). Organizing entrepreneurial judgment: A new approach to the firm. Cambridge University Press.
[19] Lee, M. Y. (2024). Enacting decentralized authority: The practices and limits of moving beyond hierarchy. Administrative Science Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392241257372
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
%2520(1).jpeg)
%2520(1)%2520(1).jpeg)
%2520(1)%2520(1).jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)