"Knowledge has to be organized as a team in which the task decides who is in charge, when, and for how long. Organization structures for knowledge work must therefore be both rigid and flexible; both have clear authority and yet are task focused."
This what is both challenging and exciting about the information age we live in. It is the task that is the manager now, not a person.
The task, as Drucker states, is what decides who will be in charge. Ok, didn't I just say a person isn't the manager now? Yes. But that doesn't mean leadership doesn't emerge. Any task will demand certain skills and dispositions to accomplish.
One misconception by a number business leaders is nobody is in charge any more. That's far from the truth. Rather, the more flexibility and freedom there is in the workplace, the more responsibility there is that comes with it. But it's in those that take personal responsibility to accomplish the task, not someone that stands over them that are the most valuable. That's what the task-focused business should be run like and hire for.
The new manager or team leader in these circumstances makes sure the team is staying on task, and not floating around once everybody has given their input and decisions have been made. It's now their duty to be a resource and to keep everything out of the teams' way that could interfere with them.
If we hire the right people in the first place this works great. They must be self-starters and those that take personal responsibility or things will become a mess quickly.
The rigidity mentioned by Drucker is in keeping focused, personally accountable and staying on track. Authority is still there, but it's connected to being completed in a timely and accurate way, not looking over workers' shoulders to watch every move they make.
Other Peter Drucker Resources:
The Man Who Invented Management
Beyond the Information Revolution
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