Information about this book:
  • Authors: Brian M. Carney and Isaac Getz
  • Publication date: 2009. Second Edition: 2015
  • Publisher: Somme Valley House
  • ISBN: 978-0-786-75635-3

Freedom, Inc. is a book about liberating leaders who believe that a workplace based of freedom and respect will not only yield better results for the company but also simply is the natural environment for employees to thrive.

The book is inspiring because of the many cases discussed that proof it is possible to build an organization that radically differs from the traditional hierarchal bureaucratic suffocating companies that surround us. And contrary to what many believe, it is not just possible in small companies. There are examples of companies that employ thousands of people, build on trust & respect.

What’s also reassuring is the examples of companies that were radically transformed by a liberating leader, showing it is possible to transform an existing company into a liberating one.

Don’t expect a hands-on cookbook for liberating leaders. The many examples of practices designed by leaders to transform their organizations are useful, their stories are inspiring. But the book hardly distills a common approach out of these stories that would help any manager become a liberating leader. That is okay as the examples show it is the intrinsic motivation and persistence of the leader to ‘do it differently’ that drives their choices. Of course there are commonalities discovered by the authors:
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Why vs How

All liberating leaders build what they call a Why company versus a How company.

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don't Manage for the three percent

Liberating leaders also do not manage for the three % which is the practice to create rules & procedures to prevent the exceptions in negative employee behavior from happening. Those same rules and procedures will have a negative impact on the motivation of all the other 97% of the employees. As the three % outwit the controls imposed, even more drastic controls are imposed, further contributing to the disengagement of the rest.

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build a shared vision

Another thing liberating leaders have in common is they build a shared vision to prevent freedom to turn into chaos. It should not be the leader’s vision that people buy in to. It should become their vision as well. So you can point out if someone’s decision is not in line with the vision but you need to give them the freedom to decide for themselves what to do.

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breakdown barriers of distrust and status

You need to breakdown barriers of distrust and status in the existing organization. Stop telling, start listening. As a leader, you help others to do their jobs, instead of using your authority. No job is too menial. Look at symbols like reserved parking spaces, or better coffee machines. Removing doors is a symbol for openness bit is is still powerful as long as it is accompanied by real changes in the way of working.

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apply practices to yourself as well

Many organizations work with self-organizing teams, and expect middle management to delegate authority and empower teams. But is is striking that in most of those companies top management does not apply those practices to themselves. Carney and Getz describe the case of Harley that started to work in self-organizing teams. They created circles, named Create demand, Produce product, and Provide support. The former Vice Presidents became coaches of a circle without formal authority.

Despite these common practices, this is not a how-to guide. If anything becomes clear, it is that becoming a liberating leader is not for everyone. Most leaders in the book got so frustrated with current practices in the companies they worked for, that at some point they just had to do it differently. They either became CEO of an existing company or founded their own. Both provided them a chance and the authority to build a radically different environment for employees. And in most cases they remained in the position of CEO for long periods of time, sometimes even decades. Contrast this to the ‘career C-level manager’ for which being CEO is a profession: they move to another company every couple years, and in the short period they are present, they tear down whatever their predecessor build up only to put their mark.
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