Paternalism Is Gluten

Paternalism is to organizations as gluten is to bread.

Most people are just fine with it, but under certain conditions gluten creates inflammation and damages organs. Hierarchy can be just as unbearable when top-down mandates and micromanagement override reasonable adult behavior.

Take tracking employees' computer activity to monitor remote work. Monitoring inputs instead of outputs produces passive employees who wait for instructions and deliver minimum-level work. The inflammatory response to productivity paranoia is LARPing: acting out work for the monitor.

You can make great bread without gluten. You can make great organizations without hierarchy. It's not all that crazy; it's a different chemistry that works better in certain conditions.

Hierarchy comes with paternalism: adult workers are treated like children. Most adults can deal with it, but there are better ways to engage people, through explicit agreements in a more reciprocal relationship.

Adults want freedom and responsibility. They want flexibility and meaningful work that stretches but doesn't break them. They want some control over how and when they get things done. That means rethinking performance management completely.

Start from scratch, remove the paternalistic elements, and make it performance dialogue instead: a robust, curiosity-driven conversation that identifies goals, uncovers concerns, and provides constructive support for doing better. It's direct and collaborative, with concrete feedback and explicit assessments. It does not include a rating derived from a population curve, and it does not create an unsustainable expectation to exceed expectations.

And for some yummy bread, try the ultimate gluten-free loaf.

First published on LinkedIn.