It is puzzling that the first reaction most companies have when they detect internal weaknesses or challenges (poor results, lack of knowledge, a need to be more efficient etc.) is to add more management levels. If the company is a hierarchy, the model remains. If the company is a small-sized one, the hierarchisation begins. In none of these cases are we building that flexible, sustainable, results-focused model that companies covet nowadays. Just the opposite, tactical and strategic positions have more and more headcounts instead of adding resources to the operational teams who, after all, are the ones in charge of making strategy a reality.
In many countries (and increasingly in Spain), this situation is solved in a more sustainable way which does not compromise the organisational structure. In most of the cases, these issues are solved by hiring external experts who, individually or as a team, work with the organisation to bridge that gap in an agreed timeline. And once the mission is accomplished, they leave. We are not talking about the traditional consulting projects, but about specific actions led by former corporate profiles who became self-standing professionals and are able to put themselves into their clients’ shoes precisely because they used to have a similar role before. Their solutions, even if they have a solid education, do not come from theories, but from personal expertise and achievements.
This kind of expert is increasing year after year in mature working environments such as for instance in the UK, where 36% of the workforce is freelance (2 million people) in industries such as technology, health or HR.
Even if it’s true that in Spain we are not trained in entrepreneurship (especially those born before 1985, raised in a more civil servant-like mindset), I am meeting more and more professionals who have decided to launch their own project and help organisations from the outside. They belong to multiple disciplines and for them, entrepreneurship means a way to align both personal and professional purposes. They are from different backgrounds: former executives who, fed up with corporate politics, have decided to rethink their careers; designers who need to be keep up to date, do constant research and innovate out of a full-time job at the same company; young talents who do not accept the status quo of macro-companies who want to hire them and decide to start their own business; professionals looking for work-life integration who take ownership of their schedule etc. All of them are profiles with an expertise which is extremely useful for a company which, in fact, many times does not need to permanently have these professionals in its structure, but do need them to start up, coach, mentor or lead a project. On the other hand, entrepreneurs also bring that external perspective and knowledge of what’s happening “out there” which big companies often lack, as they are usually absorbed in their own internal affairs.
In the end, co-workers and entrepreneurs mingle in a very interesting environment where, together, they make things happen. This blended ecosystem helps hierarchies to move towards a more agile model. Jacob Morgan, the Future of Work expert, calls those new business organisations “flatarchies”, i.e., the interaction between hierarchies and flat structures. No doubt that, in the years to come, we will see a rise of this kind of teams, especially in big companies which want to stay fit to keep on operating successfully. And entrepreneurs will be the ones making it possible.
We are living in the fourth industrial revolution, where the stability (or volatility, depending on the perspective) of a permanent contract and a freelancing project are quite the same. So, if you ever felt the entrepreneurial spark inside you, why not try it if your value proposition is worth it?
