These days, there is an increasing awareness that systemic disruption is a constant force reshaping businesses and careers alike. It was always there as a risk factor, but lately it seems more pronounced.
Political change, economic shocks, and technological advancements can reshape how businesses operate. For example, election outcomes and shifts in leadership priorities can lead to dramatic policy changes, such as Brexit in the United Kingdom or the trade tariffs in the United States, that have disrupted entire industries. Similarly, unexpected inflation and interest rate shocks force businesses to adapt rapidly to evolving economic conditions.
While political and economic disruptions have forced companies to adapt, new technological innovations, especially the dawn of artificial intelligence, have evolved to become a key driver of transformation for business (and a headache for government regulators).
New technological disrupters such as artificial intelligence are rapidly reshaping business operations just as older technology such as word processors and electronic calculators did in their own time. In today’s workplace, responding strategically to such disruptions is also key to unlocking career advancement.
AI and the Disruption of Middle Management
Take the example of middle management. AI is significantly reshaping middle management as organisations increasingly prioritise efficiency, agility, cost reduction, and customer-centricity. This shift has fuelled interest in flatter organisational structures, sometimes referred to as "bossless" workplaces, where traditional hierarchies give way to more decentralised decision-making.
While it is fair to say that a completely bossless organisation is probably a fallacy, AI now enables companies to automate many traditional management functions, allowing them to move further in that direction. Recent research by Gartner suggests that 20% of organisations plan to use AI to flatten their structure, with some expecting to eliminate more than half of their middle management positions through 2026. This trend may be good for the business bottom line (at least in the short term), but it is not so good for its people.