Brave New Work 42. The Shadow Side of Self-Management with Yehudi Meshchaninov

The stories of self-management and decentralization from evolutionary organizations like Buurtzorg, Morning Star, FAVI, Haier, and others are often told breathlessly, as if it was "happily ever after." But, the truth has to be more... nuanced, right? Indeed it is. More adaptive and human ways of working are not without their own frustrations and tradeoffs. The question is: are they worth it?

In this episode of Brave New Work, (technically the first "colleague-as-guest" episode though BNW is releasing it late), Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans are joined by Yehudi Meshchaninov to talk about what it's really like to work in a system like The Ready.

Learn more about Yehudi on LinkedIn.

Mentioned references:

• self-management
• holacracy
• sociocracy
• "the circles" [see "circle structure" in the holacracy link above]
• Roundabouts from the Brave New Work talk
• Dungeons & Dragons
• meritocracy
• Ali Randel, partner at The Ready

Our book is available now at bravenewwork.com

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Looking for some help with your own transformation? Visit theready.com

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00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is one way your work self is different than the way you are at home with your family and friends?

03:11 What inspired this discussion?

06:44 The hard parts of a self-managing system

16:02 Ways to replenish yourself and maintain discipline about how you show up

21:07 Patterns and persistent dynamics in self-managing systems

29:29 Role of fear in self-managing systems

36:58 Where the broader culture sits on the future of work and its shadow sides

41:54 Wrap up: Leave us a review!