From classical hierarchy to shared leadership

An in-depth report and a peek behind the scenes at Janus. Mostly unvarnished, as an esteemed colleague eloquently recognized shortly after its publication:
"…I just read your report on Janus's development with great pleasure in the OSC. Not because I agree with everything content-wise, but because I appreciate the style, openness, careful considerations, self-reflection, and thoughtfulness. It is clear how much effort, experimentation, and even disappointment were necessary to make progress or create something unique. Additionally, there’s a sense of the unpublishable seeping through the lines, conveyed with respect for oneself and everyone involved. Respect! Wishing you continued success…"

How wonderful! And so it all began…

Chapter 1

The Backstory – or How We Realized We Needed to Set Out

When embarking on an expedition, the story of the journey usually begins much earlier. In our five-person partnership team, the “wanderlust” had been brewing for years. As a consulting firm specializing in organizational development, team development, and personal development, we had always been eager to try things differently. We aimed to make our company a special place where the connection between profitability and life-friendliness could thrive. We not only emphasized the importance of leadership and collaboration as a key focus in our client projects but also made it a subject of our own ongoing exploration. Time and again, we would invest energy in discovering who we were as an organization, who we wanted to become, and where we aspired to go.

We had been successfully operating in the market for over 20 years and had grown considerably. With a 20-person core team and around 40 freelancers, we primarily served clients in German-speaking regions through in-house projects and our open seminar program. We took pride in being one of the first coaching training institutes and having an impressive list of client references. For a long time, our focus was on developing Janus products, selecting and training talented new employees, and collaborating in line with our vision. What, in hindsight, seems almost idyllic, was often a demanding process—and one that became increasingly burdensome for us as partners. We wanted to be a company that was professional and successful outwardly while fostering good collaboration and opportunities for responsibility and creativity internally.

Faced with this situation, we initially did what most growing companies do in such circumstances: in a concerted effort, we implemented clear role profiles for managers, partners, and employees. We built efficient structures, project processes, and departments with defined hierarchies and associated responsibilities. Why wouldn’t this work for us too? Surprisingly, our collective effort—and dissatisfaction—grew. Something wasn’t right. The only visible benefit was that things appeared more structured and organized at first glance. However, our yearning for more ease, speed, innovation, and stronger collaboration remained unmet. As partners, we continued to be the bottlenecks—expected to lead, make decisions, and provide direction on every issue.

Doubts began to creep in: Was our attempt to establish more management and hierarchy not well-suited to us and our team? Or did we need even more of it? Where did we stand in achieving our actual goal of fostering more self-responsibility among employees and creating a collaborative environment based on mutual respect? Had we failed? We were faced with a choice: improve the existing system further or completely rethink everything. We found ourselves in a fundamental conflict—not just within ourselves but also as a partnership. In hindsight, we navigated this conflict largely because we had built a strong foundation of trust through years of working together: part of the group opted for "rethink," and the others trusted this decision and held back. So, what was the alternative? What journey were we about to embark on?

You can find the full publication of the expedition report here (German version).