Flat management structure: what it is, who it works for, and what managers must facilitate

This article explores three core questions:

• What is a flat management structure?
• Which employee traits matter most in a flat structure?
• What managers must actively facilitate to make self-organization work?

Along the way, we will ground the theory in real-world examples from Clever, Vertica, and Smartive.

What is a flat management structure?

A flat management structure is an organizational design with few hierarchical layers and a high degree of delegated decision-making. Authority is pushed downward and outward, closer to where the work is actually done. Employees are trusted to make decisions that would traditionally sit with managers.

Key characteristics include:

• Fewer management layers
• Greater employee autonomy
• Peer-based coordination instead of top-down supervision
• Managers acting as enablers rather than controllers

“Flat” does not mean “no structure” or “no leadership.”

Instead, it refers to informal decentralization of decision rights. These decision rights can be delegated across multiple dimensions:

• Task division (what work exists)
• Task allocation (who does what)
• Information exchange (who shares what with whom)
• Reward distribution (how compensation is decided)
• Exception management (how conflicts are resolved)

Organizations rarely decentralize all dimensions at once. For example, Vertica allows teams to decide how they work, how they allocate tasks, and how they resolve conflicts, while relying on lightweight coordination structures to maintain coherence. Smartive goes further by decentralizing compensation decisions through transparent, peer-driven processes.

Flatness, therefore, is not a binary choice. It is a design decision with degrees and trade-offs.

Employee traits to look for in a flat management structure

Flat management structures raise the bar for employees. More autonomy means more responsibility, not just for one’s own tasks, but for the functioning of the system as a whole. Research and practice show that two aspects matter most: willingness and capability.

Employees who are motivated by autonomy

Autonomy does not motivate everyone equally. Employees thrive in flat structures when autonomy activates mechanisms such as self-actualization, perceived control, engagement, and reduced fear of evaluation.

Traits that consistently support this include:

• Need for achievement and conscientiousness
  People with a strong achievement orientation tend to convert autonomy into performance. This is visible at Vertica, where teams are trusted to deliver client outcomes end-to-end, without managerial pushing.
• Proactive personality
  Proactive individuals take initiative across situations. Flat structures amplify their strengths. At Smartive, many initiatives start bottom-up through the advice process rather than top-down mandates.
• Internal locus of control
  Employees who believe they can influence outcomes generally appreciate decision rights more than formal guidance.
• Seniority and life stage
  More experienced employees often value autonomy for intrinsic reasons. Several people at Clever describe their motivation not in terms of career ladders, but in terms of doing meaningful work with responsibility.

Employees who protect the collective system

Enjoying autonomy is not enough. Flat structures fail when people optimize only for personal interest and ignore essential but unattractive work.

Flat organizations rely on employees who:

• Are trustworthy
• Avoid cherry-picking
• Are willing to “take one for the team”

Traits such as honesty–humility and agreeableness are critical here. At Clever, employees repeatedly emphasize collective responsibility and maturity as prerequisites for the model to work.

This also explains why flat organizations are selective. These traits develop slowly and are difficult to “train into” people after the fact.

Employees who are capable of self-organization

Autonomy without competence creates risk. Depending on what is decentralized, employees may need:

• Understanding of organizational goals
• Ability to assess their own skills realistically
• Communication and conflict-resolution skills
• Discipline to prioritize organizational value over status

At Smartive, the role-based system makes capabilities visible. People can hold multiple roles, but responsibility is clear and transparent, preventing ambiguity from turning into chaos.

What managers must facilitate in a flat management structure

Choosing the right people is necessary, but not sufficient. Flat structures do not eliminate the need for management. They change what management focuses on.

Three managerial responsibilities are especially important: preventing breakdown, providing information, and enabling psychological empowerment.

Preventing breakdown through norms and accountability

Flat organizations are vulnerable to freeriding. When some people stop contributing to shared responsibilities, others quickly follow.

Research shows that sanctioning mechanisms, even imperfect ones, help sustain cooperation. In flat organizations, these sanctions are often indirect:

• Peer reviews
• Reputation effects
• Transparency

At Smartive, transparency around salaries, finances, and decisions acts as a powerful social control mechanism. At Vertica, teams hold each other accountable through shared responsibility for client outcomes.

The goal is not punishment, but protecting the shared “public good” of autonomy.

Providing access to the right information

Autonomy without information forces employees to guess. This undermines decision quality and confidence.

Managers must ensure employees have access to:

• Clear organizational goals
• Task architecture and dependencies
• Information about who is working on what
• Insight into effort, contribution, and outcomes
• Context needed to resolve conflicts

Flat organizations invest heavily in transparency. Smartive uses dashboards, shared tools, and explicit processes to ensure decisions are informed rather than implicit. Vertica makes task and team boundaries clear so employees can self-select work responsibly.

Just as important is preventing information overload. Flat structures work best when information is accessible, relevant, and usable.

Supporting psychological empowerment

Autonomy increases accountability, which can trigger uncertainty and fear. Even highly capable employees may struggle when traditional managerial safety nets disappear.

Effective managers provide autonomy support, which includes:

• Taking employee concerns seriously
• Encouraging initiative without coercion
• Offering guidance without taking over decisions

At Clever, leadership emphasizes humility and dialogue. Leaders remain visible and caring, even though they avoid micromanagement. At Smartive, leaders act as sparring partners and cultural stewards rather than decision authorities.

Empowerment works best when it is tailored. One-on-one conversations are far more effective than generic motivational messaging.

Examples of flat management structures in practice

Buurtzorg (see video below) is a good example of an organization with an extremely flat management structure.

Clever

Clever is a strong example of a deeply flat, values-driven organization. Decision-making is decentralized, and employees are expected to act as responsible adults rather than followers of instructions. The structure depends heavily on trust, maturity, and shared responsibility. Leadership focuses on creating the conditions for people to contribute meaningfully, rather than enforcing compliance.

Vertica

Vertica operates without formal managers or traditional departments. Self-managing customer teams take ownership of client delivery, task allocation, communication, and conflict resolution. Lightweight coordination groups provide alignment without hierarchy. Vertica shows that flat management structures can scale when autonomy is paired with clarity and shared norms.

Smartive

Smartive represents an explicit and system-supported flat structure. With no traditional managers, shared ownership, transparent salaries, and an advice-based decision process, authority sits with those closest to the work. Transparency replaces control, and structured processes replace informal power.

Closing perspective on flat management

Flat management structures are not a shortcut to agility or engagement. They are demanding organizational designs that require the right people, thoughtful facilitation, and continuous adjustment.

Organizations like Clever, Vertica, and Smartive demonstrate that flat structures can work across contexts, but only when autonomy is matched with responsibility, transparency, and support.

Flatness is not about removing management. It is about redesigning what management is there to do.

More on flat organizational structures

This article is part of a series on flat organizational design. Other articles in this series include:

• Advantages & disadvantages of flat organizational structures (from 14 case studies)
• 9 Challenges of flat organizational structures (and why they are still worth tackling)
• 7 examples of flat organizational structures
• Tall vs flat organizational structure: differences & when a flat structure wins

Want to go beyond reading?

Flat structures don’t fail because of people, they fail because of poor design. In our 6-week Progressive Organizational Design Masterclass, we show how organizations replace hierarchy with structures that deliver speed, accountability, and real ownership.