Challenging Traditional Organizational Theory: Has “Seasonal” Replaced “Career?”

The hierarchical organizational model employed by most organizations today is based on the historical models developed for the great Roman and Prussian armies. It’s adaptation assured quality replication and reliability in the manufacturing process while the organization scaled its capacity and simultaneously increased efficiency. In today’s world where globalization, the need for nimble adaptiveness, collaboration and wealth creation by talented “associates” rules, it may actually work at cross purposes and become an impediment to potential success, especially since the ability to innovate is a significant predictor of success in today’s competitive market.

This means creativity needs to be applied throughout the organization, including in our organizational structure and staffing. The challenge for all hiring executives must be how to mobilize and monetize every employee’s commitment each and every day they are engaged with the organization. If loyalty and longevity are not to be rewarded nor expected, then we must create new approaches that will keep the work place highly engaging and personally rewarding. This simply cannot be effectively done using 19th century (and earlier!) models.

Contrary to some current theories, attracting talent is not the biggest challenge facing hiring mangers today. The biggest issue before most companies is how to profit from the talented people they recruit. The ability to combine talent, technology and organizational design to create much higher profit per employee is the real challenge. Highly talented people really don’t require, nor are they willing to accept overly hierarchical models. The concept that this generation of skilled, educated self-directed thinkers will require a privileged class of managers and administrators is an example of how today’s organizational structure creates barriers and impediments that can stifle the creative worker and limit the organizations success.

Let’s consider a practical example, that of recruiting, hiring and integrating a VP of Sales. Research indicates that the VP of Sales role in most organizations has a life of less than two years. So, we know we are hiring for a season, but we continue to interview for a career. We talk about career progression and longevity with prior companies, and similar metrics that really have little bearing on the capacity to succeed with a new company. The idea, the elephant in the room we all see but resist coming to terms with, is that both the prospective employee and the employer are thinking of the hire from a “seasonal” perspective. The employee isn’t committing to a career, nor is the company.

Those recruiting interim, or seasonal, hires at the senior level, hiring for a specific set of skills for a defined period of time, may well be the first to realize the enormous opportunity that lies within embracing a new model, that of yielding the best results from the best people for a specific task or period of time. They will likely be the leaders we study when we look to those companies who have created the most wealth, routinely turn in the highest productivity per employee, and are the most sought after companies for whom to work “for a season.”