Linux IT ditches top-level job titles in bid to democratise firm

Open-source reseller hopes flat structure will encourage creativity and empower staff

Open-source reseller Linux IT has switched to a new management structure which sees all top-level staff forego rigid job titles in an effort to encourage collaboration and empower its employees.

The Bristol-based firm was previously run by its founder Peter Dawes-Huish who had been its chief executive before taking on a non-executive director role last year ahead of his departure from the company in December.

Since then, the firm has ramped up its efforts to democratise the running of the company, which one of its executive directors Simon Mitchell said has been a big step.

"The way Linux IT was driven in the past was very much bottom-line focused," he said. "It was about how to create a profitable company and follow the market for the return on investment for shareholders. It was typical of an IT company in the early stages of development.

"But what's changed now is we have democratised it, spread the shareholding and for the time being, held back on applying labels to individuals [in the management team]."

Mitchell has recently completed an MBA qualification and said his dissertation focused on the idea of spiritual leadership - a concept which focuses on business ethics and employee wellbeing. He said the research has played a big role in the new-look Linux IT.

"The economic crash showed us that there's a shadow in which business and the economy has been run," he said. "[They have been] driven by greed and short-termism. I don't believe in that, it's not sustainable or fulfilling for those who get all the money or for those which don't get the proceeds. What I advocate is a flat [management] structure."

The Linux IT team consists of about 25 full-time employees, a handful of contractors and six top-level staff. Mitchell said by ditching rigid job titles which are set in stone, staff can better collaborate and share ideas.

"Each of us has the opportunity to learn and grow and to bring our whole selves to work," he said. "We're not just doing a nine-to-five to put bread on the table.

"There's a sense of aligning the business and objective with our own values and what we want to achieve. Of course, it's partly about money, but it's much more about what makes you want to get out of bed in the morning. Together we are worth more than the sum of our parts."