Are managers really necessary?

There have been so much talks about managers actually hampering the performance of a company. An article in Forbes by David K Williams resonates the same and says the a company needs leaders and not managers. Every individual is responsible for creating and shaping their own future. 'What does that look like? We start with our 7 Non Negotiable of leadership—we Trust and then we empower. You know how leaders will typically say “I empower my people”—and then they don’t? The tendency is all too common,' the author says. Mistakes are like ropes that are around your neck, it can either get your head taken of or get yanked so hard the natural reaction is to hunker down and become less instead of growing more. The author says that with a holistic, high altitude view of what they want to achieve along with their partners. 'Yes, there’s a fine line between leadership and management—but there’s a massive difference as well, I maintain. Our approach makes the groups and leaders autonomous, but also interdependent. They are bright. All voices are heard. We decide on the “best” idea, no matter who originates it, and most of the time, we actually forget who brings the idea forward. Nobody worries about “the glory” because all will benefit as a team,' the author says. David feels that this will help in bringing out better answers that what they could have hoped for. He says that the captains only hold one meeting a week and deploy a strategy and then hand off the rest to the team comprising individuals. This means that there is no hierarchy in the company and everyone leads within their areas of stewardship and responsibility. This makes everyone interact with each other to seek help and improve better. The author says that though he is open to resolve any problem, he does not entertain his employees being entirely dependent on him. 'Don’t come to me with your problem until you’re ready to come forward with your best solution, or your best set of possible solutions, as well. And did you take it to your teammates? What did they say?' the author says. Eventhough there might be some management issues, micromanaging will only lead to fear of making mistake, inturn affecting the productivity. The author states that eliminating the middle man factor from the company has improved the company's growth drastically.