John Walt

I want to talk to you about one of the biggest problems with how we think in the modern world. It keeps us from our full potential, as well as the relationships and community we all want in life. Like most great lies, it has very humble origins and isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself. However, the effect it has on our thinking and social structures is profound.

Scott Dohner shared a concept with me years ago that he calls Box and Line Thinking. If you look at virtually every organization in our Western world, you will see some type of org chart outlining people's roles, their responsibilities, and the channels they should use to communicate with each other. The org chart originated out of the industrial age as companies became larger, and the challenges of managing large numbers of people and systems became harder. The first organizational chart was created by Daniel McCallum to address the logistical complexities facing the New York and Erie Railroad in 1854. This organizational innovation reduced accident rates by 75% within two years while improving operational efficiency. There is no question that this demonstrated the practical value of a systematic management structure.

Now, org charts are ubiquitous and underpin every part of modern businesses, non-profits, and government organizations. If a company doesn’t have an org chart then consultants and new execs will quickly push for the creation of one. Now, it is hard to even envision how a company can function without one.

Ok, so you are probably wondering why I am talking about org charts; I know it seems really boring. What I actually want to talk about isn’t org charts in and of themselves but the effect that a world built on org charts has on our thinking. Scott calls this Box and Line thinking because most org charts are made up of boxes and lines. Each box represents a role with a job description and responsibilities, the lines show who reports to who and how communication should flow.

Here is a sample org chart below.

Org charts are based on systems thinking. We look at the function of a role and the needed output, and then we connect it to all the other parts of the system to ensure we get the desired outcomes. What we accidentally do, though, is reduce people to their box; you are an HR manager or a supply chain logistics manager or a VP of marketing. At first pass, there is nothing wrong with that. After all, businesses need people to be productive, and they need the systems to function properly.

So what’s the problem?

Let’s zoom out for a second from an organization and look at this from a higher perspective. Schools have org charts as well. Teachers have subjects and classes they are expected to teach. Their performance and effectiveness are judged by how well their students do, which is evaluated by how they perform on standardized tests. The schools and tests are ultimately evaluated by how well students do at getting into universities or getting jobs. When students leave school, they enter another organization that is organized around an org chart, and they are given a box and some lines to define their role. Their success is evaluated by how well they perform that role.

Outside of work, people participate in clubs, non-profits, and faith-based organizations. All of which are organized around org charts. Do you think this level of participation in box and line organizations has affected how we think?

How Org Charts Affect Our Thinking

Living in a world built around boxes and lines affects our thinking in significant ways. On the simplest level, it communicates that your success is dependent on your output. But on a deeper level, it tells you that your life is defined by the boxes you are in. It tells you that to be more successful; you need to move from the box you are in to another box on a higher level with more responsibility, a better title, and higher pay.

Org charts show us how to define success and what to value.
They show us how to win approval and recognition.
They show us how we fit into the world around us.
They show us how to relate to others.
They give us a sense of control.
And most importantly, they show us how to avoid failure.

They are like a drug to our psychology because they give us what we think we want, but in the end, all they do is reduce our life to a series of roles. Said another way, we define our lives by the roles we play in the machines around us.

The difference between machines and organic systems

If you think about it, our box and line model of organizational structure is similar to a rudimentary machine reminiscent of the Industrial Age. Org charts are actually really simple. Let’s compare these simple systems to the far more complex organic systems all around us. There is no question the most complex systems in the world are in nature. We cannot even begin to create such wonderful, reproductive, autonomous, self-healing machines with the best of our technology.

Is nature efficient? Is there organization to living things? Of course, there is. The universe and everything in it is intricately choreographed to function in concert with everything else. There is no room for waste in the system. Creation is a perfect organization. So, what is it organized around? Every living thing has a code in it from the beginning that tells it how to organize itself and what function it has.

How is nature organized? Every living organism has DNA that serves as a blueprint for life. We could call a living organism's DNA its “identity.” In other words, it seems that God’s organizational model is built around identity. As long as everything in creation plays the role it is created to play, everything functions perfectly. The only living organisms in the world that can choose not to live in alignment with their identity are Humans. Self-consciousness and high-level thinking make it possible for us to disconnect from who we really are and live like we are something else. I realize I am making some leaps here between identity and DNA. Obviously, a human's identity is so much more than its DNA. But even if we stayed focused on just DNA this argument holds up. Look at how often people go against the blueprint for life that God wrote into their DNA. We have broken lives, broken relationships, broken homes, and broken people, all because we have the power to choose not to play our role. We step out of the blueprint for our lives all the time. The result is always a broken system.

For instance, its clear that from a scientific and social perspective, people are made for family. People are individually healthier, but communities are also healthier when they have more families. Communities have less crime, less poverty, fewer drugs, higher education, and lower teenage pregnancy rates when they have more complete families. But look around, how many broken families do you see? We, as people, regularly choose to step out of the role we are created for.

God doesn’t build with Org Charts

God organizes around identity and moves through people and relationships in seemingly inefficient ways. He focuses on our heart, not our output. We see God doing something, and we want to make a program or an organization out of it. I am convinced that He doesn’t think that way.

I think our desire for control leads us to want to define exactly what God is doing and then find a way to take Him out of the driver's seat. Think about it: if God is always the leader, then we never have control; we never know exactly what our role is or what is expected of us. How can we be successful in a God-led organic system? We have to actually drop the concept of success from our minds. The big question becomes, am I being faithful to who God has created me to be and the work He has given me to do? We can only evaluate how well we are doing at trusting and following.

Box and Line thinking is antithetical to God’s way of doing things. As long as we are stuck in box and line thinking, we will find life with God very challenging.

As Scott wrestled with how to organize his business differently, God gave him a picture of a nucleus. Instead of boxes with titles, he saw spheres of responsibility. Instead of channels of communication, he saw lines that connected everyone to each other. The best part of his nucleus vision was that it was alive and three-dimensional. Companies are not simple because they are made up of people, and people are not simple; companies and people are complex systems. Each part of the system affects the rest in ways we cannot quickly and easily see.

Holacratic structures are similar to what Scott envisioned and provide an alternative to the traditional org chart structure. Below is a simple picture of what these structures look like.

What we were made for

We weren’t made for org charts. We weren’t created to be an interchangeable part of a larger machine. We were created to be a unique part of a complex living system. We were created for mystery, meaning, purpose, calling, identity, story, and deep relationships that are hard to define. What we are made for resembles the organic structures of creation and not the mechanical systems of an industrial world. We need to find our true identity and live from it.

Every time I see God doing something exciting, I find myself thinking, how can we make an organization around this, or how can we create a program or curriculum out of this? I am so baked in box and line thinking that even with years of practice in changing my thinking, I still gravitate towards traditional structures over organic systems. My heart is in a good place, I see something good and want to make sure that the good thing continues.

When I am able to let go of a desire for control and certainty, then I get to embrace the mystery of what God is doing. It seems that when God is building something, it is primarily through relationships that are built on trust and connection. It rarely turns into an organization, and it is always a little hard to define. I don’t believe we are supposed to comprehend what God is doing most of the time. The mystery is good for us and forces us to trust. I believe that God’s organizational model is communities organized around identity and built on trust and connection with God and each other.

These types of communities are extremely rare. I have only encountered a few of them in my life despite searching for them for many years. I do believe, though, that many of us have tasted these types of communities at different points in our lives, even if only for short periods of time. They often start to emerge and then fall apart when people start trying to over-structure them. In other words, power and control show up and these beautiful living communities die. Have you experienced something like this?

Everyone I meet seems to want to be a part of an authentic community. Why is something so simple, good, and universally desired so elusive? I believe it is because of three primary reasons. First, we are taught by our modern culture to be obsessed with ourselves, which breeds narcissism and isolation in all of us. Secondly, we don’t know who we are, so we show up with false identities built to protect us and wonder why we can’t truly connect with others. Thirdly, we unknowingly bring box and line thinking into organic systems and start to structure the life out of them.

I am guilty of all of the above. As I continue to be transformed, I find more and more people on the same journey. The relationships that have come into my life are incredible and completely unorganized. May we all become people who are comfortable with the mystery we were made for.