Organizations that matters

Can we please abolish management levels?

Career system have evolved in a "Rat Race" that generates frustration, office politics and useless effort: how much time direct managers, functional leaders, human resources and many others spend trying to manage a puzzle that is not adding value to the final product for consumers?

I am not saying career progression models are wrong per se, just that organizations designed in layers do not work anymore:

1) Hello, it's XXI century:
In the past experience and knowledge were making the difference and vertical ladders made sense: the more experience you had and the more confident you were, the more and better you will produce. But welcome to the XXI century... we need different skills and knowledge in different parts of the processes, BigData are replacing the need to have people knowing little of everything, intuition is the weapon and flexibility the new killing-skill. Strategies change every six months in business... Are you sure have the same leader in place for years (knowing that s/he will be focusing 30% of time on climbing the ladder makes sense?).

2) Career has become a change brake
Continuous change is the new paradigma, but changeability decreases usually with time (and status): the more people have to loose, the less they are attracted by change and risk.

3) Motivation is a "just a little more complex":
Vertical progression in career, like in military ranks, was fitting perfectly the needs of a completely different generation: Baby Boomers. They made their STATUS a life goal, a purpose in itself. Does it work nowadays? Well, it depends: in corporate environments imprinting is still very strong and contagion clearly touched GenX as well, but every day more you see Talents jumping out of the ship because they think it's just crazy. This will not survive to GenY...

4) Aging will kill all career models
The most of career paths were created when expectation of life was shorter and people could aspire to have one successful vertical career in life up to the top. Today... with all of us having to work 40 years and more before retiring (if ever), one career is simply not an option anymore. Net, or we slow down careers (but GenY will not appreciate) or we reinvent them. And in the second case, layers are not really helping...

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Do we need vertical careers? Are you sure?
What if we design organizations without it