Corporate Hierarchy

"We have a problem…" my Norwegian colleague once said to me early on a Monday morning in the office. Expecting the worst, I listened closely.

"The janitor says our team has been leaving behind too much mess in our space."

Relieved it was not a major business-related problem I shrugged it off and replied arrogantly.

"So what?"

That's when she stopped me to make sure I understood a key thing about how organizations work in Norway. You see the janitor's opinion can carry the same weight as anyone else in the organization, regardless of their title and stature.

He could, like any employee, walk right into CEO's office and voice his concerns. In Norway even large organizations are considered flat, non-hierarchical and equal. With that knowledge in hand, I was careful to be a little better about picking up after myself.

The Flat Structure

This type of flat work environment allows for open and transparent sharing of information, so everyone is included. This is counter to the organizational structure in many other regions. In other countries you have many levels of the organization and the dreaded managers-managing-managers framework.

To a Norwegian, this would be considered inefficient and thus not worth doing.

Avoiding the Top-Down Approach

Due to this flat structure it is not recommend trying a "top-down" approach to doing business with Norwegian companies. For example, instead of trying to influence the CEO of a company to do a business deal it's better to connect directly to a specific employee in the organization.

Concepts like 'going above someone's head' in an organization is highly discouraged. In fact, to approach a more senior employee and bypass someone in the organization may even be considered a great insult. The lower level employee is likely to lose trust in you, making it incredibly difficult to work together further.

The Role of Norwegian Bosses

Norwegian companies have bosses like anywhere else. However, their role is often much different than in other business cultures. They lead by coaching and maintaining an inclusive team environment. They don't often 'crack the whip', as we like to say in America.

Instead, they work together as equals to their colleagues. And they have another important role in driving that equality. For example, if a team member is lagging behind it's the boss' job to help push them up to the same level as the rest of team.

This is counter to other cultures where a boss may focus on highlighting a single high performing individual. Ultimately managers hope that they will inspire (or intimidate) lower performing employees to step up on their own. In Norway it's more important that your team is operating at equal level across the board.

The Need for Consensus

Along with this equality you'll find the need for lots of consensus. This means that almost all company decisions will take additional time. This can be frustrating to a foreigner used to faster decision making and iteration cycles.

But in Norway it's important everyone feels included. This inclusive structure makes Norwegians feel appreciated at work. As a result, they are typically incredibly loyal employees. However, it will significantly delay progress in some cases. I eventually learned to be patient and trust the process.

Employee Autonomy

As a counter to this and due to lack of needing what we refer to America as 'executive buy-in' – the approval of the boss for most major initiatives – employees at all levels have a fair amount of autonomy.

They are, in many cases, empowered to make their own decisions, especially as it relates to their specific job duties. This is especially true in decisions that do not require a major shift in strategy or change to the organization's structure.

The classic Norwegian pragmatism strikes again.