The problem with management isn’t managers, the problem with management is bad managers
I agree with this. However, in my experience, bad managers are really good at politics, and their aptitude with politics biases many organizations towards bad management. Holocracy isn't so much a knee-jerk reaction to bad managers, it is a knee-jerk reaction to bad politics. I would posit that if bad managers were never promoted, people wouldn't have the same holocratic ideals. They would just switch teams or switch companies, and be done with it. They can't do that, because sooner or later, Bad Manager Bob comes back as Bad Director Bob.
But I think the point the article is trying to make is that people who are good at politics will end up with power whether you officially have a flat structure or not. So then management needs to be used as a way to keep the whole thing in check. I'm not sure how best to do it, but I think it's a good point.
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The problem with management isn’t managers, the problem with management is bad managers
I agree with this. However, in my experience, bad managers are really good at politics, and their aptitude with politics biases many organizations towards bad management. Holocracy isn't so much a knee-jerk reaction to bad managers, it is a knee-jerk reaction to bad politics. I would posit that if bad managers were never promoted, people wouldn't have the same holocratic ideals. They would just switch teams or switch companies, and be done with it. They can't do that, because sooner or later, Bad Manager Bob comes back as Bad Director Bob.
But I think the point the article is trying to make is that people who are good at politics will end up with power whether you officially have a flat structure or not. So then management needs to be used as a way to keep the whole thing in check. I'm not sure how best to do it, but I think it's a good point.