For a long time, many companies have used a system where there are clear roles and bosses to manage how things are done. It seemed like a good way to keep everything in order and help the company grow. But at ELIXR Labs, we realized that this way wasn’t helping us reach our goals. We wanted to change healthcare with technology, and we needed to be fast, creative, and flexible to do that. The usual way of organizing the company started to slow us down, so we decided to try something different. Here’s why we made that choice and what we learned from it.

Why the Hierarchical Structure Didn’t Work for Us

From the beginning, ELIXR Labs was set up with small teams that could work on their own, make decisions quickly, and solve problems quickly. We wanted everyone to feel in charge of their work and come up with new ideas without waiting around. But when we added a system with bosses and strict rules, it actually made things slower. It caused problems that hurt how well we were working and made people feel less motivated.

• Communication Bottlenecks

One big problem we had was waiting for approval because of the different levels of bosses. The idea was that having many people check things would keep the quality high. But in reality, it just caused delays. Decisions that could have been made quickly got stuck as they moved through all the layers of leadership.

For example, if a team was working on an important project, they had to wait for feedback from the bosses before they could move ahead. These delays made it take longer to finish the work and made the team feel less excited and motivated. Every time a decision was held up or a deadline was missed, it slowed the team down and made it harder to stay focused and quick.

• Limited Individual Contributions from Senior Experts

Another problem we faced was how the boss system affected teamwork. Even though our senior experts knew a lot and had a lot of experience, the structure made them focus more on managing others than actually working on the projects. They spent more time telling people what to do instead of being hands-on with the work themselves.

Because the senior experts weren’t involved in the work, it created an imbalance. The junior team members had to do more work, and the senior experts' skills weren’t being used fully. The boss system also made it harder for everyone to work together and share the responsibility, which stopped the team from collaborating.

Our Shift to Self-Empowered Teams

We realized the boss system wasn’t working for us at ELIXR Labs, so we decided to try something new. We got rid of the hierarchy and created smaller teams that could make their own decisions, take charge of their projects, and work together without waiting for approval from bosses.

This change also meant we had to shift the way we all worked together. We had to trust our teams to take responsibility for their work and make sure they followed through. It also meant focusing on teamwork and being flexible, instead of sticking to strict rules and who reports to whom.

The Results: What We Gained

The results of this change were amazing. By getting rid of the boss system, we discovered many benefits that completely changed how we worked as a company.

• Faster Delivery

With teams having more control, making decisions faster and easier. Teams didn’t have to wait for approvals or go through long chains of communication. This made it quicker to finish projects and handle problems as they happened.

• Greater Accountability

When teams have the freedom to make decisions, they feel more responsible for their work. Our teams took pride in what they did and worked hard because they knew their choices helped the company succeed. This made them more motivated to do their best.

• A Culture of Adaptability

In a fast-changing field like healthcare technology, being able to adjust quickly is really important. By getting rid of strict rules, we created a work environment where teams could change direction easily, try new ideas, and be creative. This flexibility became one of our biggest strengths.

Key Learnings and Observations

Letting go of the boss system taught us an important lesson: not every solution works for every team. While the boss system works well for some, it can stop growth and new ideas for others. For us, switching to teams that can make their own decisions helped us reach our full potential.

This experience taught us that a company’s setup should match its goals. At ELIXR Labs, we needed to be fast, flexible, and work well together—things a boss system didn’t support. By choosing the right way to work, we created a place where both our team and our mission could succeed.

At ELIXR Labs, we learned that the way a company is set up can make a big difference. When we removed the boss system, our teams worked faster, took charge of their projects, and helped each other more. This made our company better and more creative.

A structured team can be great, but if work is dragging or creativity feels blocked, it might be time to change how things are done.

What’s one thing you would change about how your team works? Let’s talk in the comments!