Imagine working in an organisation where responsibility doesn’t wait for permission. No endless approvals. No leaders turning into bottlenecks. No meetings that replace decisions. Just clear ownership, fast action, and teams trusted to lead the work they do every day. This is what happens when organisations move from control to partnership, and why the future of leadership is no longer about managing people, but about designing systems that let responsibility live where it belongs.
Imagine working at a company where no one tells you what to do. No managers breathing down your neck. No pointless performance reviews. No corporate ladder to climb.
This is the reality at Haier, the Chinese company that eliminated hierarchy and replaced it with an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The way we work is broken. Burnout is rising, engagement is falling, and both leaders and employees feel stuck in the same frustrating loop. In her Corporate Rebels piece, Lisa Gill argues that the root cause isn’t effort or structure—it’s an outdated “parent–child” paradigm. To thrive, our organizations must evolve toward true partnership: an adult–adult way of working built on trust, accountability, and shared ownership.