Management Is a Disease—Here’s the Cure
Over the past weeks, I’ve been diving deep into the transcripts of more than 50 Q&A sessions from our Corporate Rebels Masterclasses. These sessions—conducted over the last years—feature unfiltered conversations with Buurtzorg’s founder, Jos de Blok, and his team.
I wanted to get to the bottom of what they’re doing differently. Why does Buurtzorg, a company with zero managers, outperform traditional organizations in almost every way?
Their answer is simple: management is the problem.
Jos de Blok Thinks So. And He’s Got Proof.
Buurtzorg, the Dutch home-care organization, has no managers.
Instead, they’ve built a network of self-managing teams. Nurses work in small, autonomous groups. They decide who they hire, how they work, and how they solve problems.
And guess what?
- Patients get better care.
- Nurses love their jobs.
- Costs are lower.
Jos de Blok doesn’t hesitate: “Management is a disease.”
The Cost of Control
Bureaucracy isn’t just annoying—it’s destructive.
Traditional organizations spend endless energy on meetings, policies, approvals, and oversight. They focus on control instead of trust.
Buurtzorg takes the opposite approach:
- No micromanagement.
- No middlemen.
- Just smart, capable professionals solving problems.
The results? Teams run themselves without someone constantly looking over their shoulder.
Trust People, Or Lose Them
Buurtzorg proves people don’t need managers—they need trust and ownership.
Most companies won’t try this. Not because it doesn’t work, but because letting go of control is terrifying.
Management is a comfort blanket. Companies are addicted. And Buurtzorg proves that detox is possible.
Learn From Buurtzorg Firsthand
At Corporate Rebels, we’ve been researching Buurtzorg for years. It’s one of the most fascinating cases we study in our Masterclass on self-managing organizations.
Want to go deeper? Join us to learn how companies like Buurtzorg are redefining work—and how you can do the same.
