Over the years, I’ve heard many a person grumble about having to change managers, either due to organizational changes or natural attrition. I found it interesting that the author of The Fiefdom Syndrome actually promotes the systematic changing of managers and directors at periodic intervals. Using a system such as this prevents people from hiding within an organization and allows fresh eyes to look at old problems. As the title suggests, it also decreases the possibility that fiefdoms will occur within an organization and base their actions on self-survival while costing the company as a whole.

When I first heard this, I was somewhat opposed to this idea, but after thinking about it more, I can see certain situations where this might make sense. A lot of employee surveys I’ve seen state the number one reason for quitting was due to a bad manager, and this option might help while improving the business in other ways. At a minimum, organizations, large and small, should be on the lookout for situations where groups have taken on a “life of their own” within the larger organization and consider this as one possible option.