ABSTRACT
To adaptively grow in rapidly changing business environments, a number of organizations have challenged the traditional bureaucratic way of organizing for a new, more flexible organizational structure: self-organizing. It is based on minimal hierarchy, decentralized decision-making power and a workforce autonomously striving towards a common goal. But to achieve this, one needs proactive and self-managing employees, and accordingly, facilitating the intrinsic motivation and self-determination of the employees becomes a key challenge to make self-organizing a reality. In this chapter, we will first outline the key characteristics of, and differences between, bureaucracy and self-organizing. Then, we turn to a discussion of human nature and motivation, arguing that while extrinsic rewards and controlling might work in bureaucratic settings, only intrinsic motivation and self-determination are compatible with self-organizing. To support our case, we will end the chapter with practical examples of how a few rapidly growing companies have solved the various challenges of self-organizing and been able to keep the business profitable while having highly engaged and proactive employees.
