Managing without Managers

1. Case #1: Spotify

Launched in 2008, the music giant was turned into the
business we know today by Swedish entrepreneur
David Ek, who wanted to create a service that would be
easier and more convenient for customers than the now
illegal file-sharing websites.
Figure 1: (Kniberg, 2014)

Like many technology companies, Spotify has a flat organizational structure rather
than complex hierarchies of management. For companies like Spotify, to get to the
customer it is imperative that they work in a fast-moving way that allows changes in
content. In order to work at the greatest efficiency, Spotify have adopted a
management and organizational structure based upon squads, chapters, tribes,
and guilds (Bäcklander, 2019). These provide a useful way for Spotify to organize
their staff and reporting structures in an industry where many are trying to remove
managers entirely (Kniberg, 2014). Please have a look at the video, which we shall
talk about in class.

Squads are the building blocks of the organizational structure at Spotify (Bäcklander,
2019). These small teams work in a way that is similar to a small startup business.
These squads sit together in one shared space to work as effectively as possible on
one long-term mission, which is usually improving a specific area or part of the
Spotify experience. Squads do not have a manager and instead work together to
ensure that the overall problem is solved. Each squad does, however, have a
"product owner" whose job is to ensure that work is prioritized across the whole
squad. Within each squad you will find employees with different skills who can
contribute toward the squad achieving their goaI (Lynskey, 2013).

Tribes are groups of squads that work in similar areas. This means that all the
squads working on web-based services are part of the same tribe, and squads who
work on the mobile Spotify application will be part of a different tribe. Each tribe, like
the individual squads, can work autonomously, with very little traditional
management. Within the Spotify offices, the multiple squads that make up each tribe
sit close together to allow collab­oration between squads as needed; however, the
ethos of Spotify is to discourage squads and tribes being dependent on one an­other
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 Managing without Managers

so that change can happen as quickly as possible, which is incredibly important in the
ever-changing technology market.
To manage the staff and structure throughout the organization, Spotify utilizes what
they call "chapters," which are collections of people who have similar skills but who
work in various squads; for example, a chapter may include all of the programmers in
the various squads within one tribe. It is within these chapters that we see more of a
link to traditional manage­ment theory, with clearer lines of management and
responsibility for staff members, their development, pay, and progression. The only
time people may work outside their tribe is when taking part in "guild" activities.
Guilds are cross-tribe groups of people who have similar interests but-again-do not
have any formal management; they are autonomous and self-managed, working on
projects or problems that interest them.
As a fast-moving technology company, it is of course essential for Spotify to be able
to react, change, and adapt their online content quickly. By approaching
management in a non-traditional manner, they allow individuals to be more creative
while meeting the overall goals of the business. There are, however, potential
difficulties in adopting this more relaxed attitude to management, as there is a lack of
control overall and many opportunities for the freedom offered to staff to be misused.

The rise of technology companies such as Spotify is changing the landscape of

management, for many are trying to avoid traditional management practices
altogether. Spotify is somewhat unique in its field as they have recognized the need
for management within the organization but attempted to find a unique way of
balancing the need for freedom and creativity in the workforce while still
undertaking basic management activities. As Spotify grows in size, do you think
that they may need to reflect upon their approach to management?

2. References
Bäcklander, G. (2019). Doing complexity leadership theory: How agile coaches at Spotify practise
enabling leadership. Creativity and Innovation Management, 28(1), 42-60.
Harasymczuk, M., & Kniberg, H. (2014). Spotify Engineering Culture part 2 (Agile Enterprise Transition
with Scrum and Kanban).
Kniberg, H., & Ivarsson, A. (2012). Scaling agile@ spotify. online], UCVOF, ucvox. files. wordpress.
com/2012/11/113617905-scaling-Agile-spotify-11.pdf

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