Altrocentrism can be defined as a new and efficient approach of having strong teams with the focus and power less on the leader and more on the individual members.
The name itself gives you a rough concept concerning this approach. It is the exact opposite of egocentrism. This concept may sound a bit scary for a team leader, and yet encouraging for the workers, but before altrocentrism can be set in motion, you need to have enough trust in your subordinates.
Altrocentric companies are, in a way, hierarchy-free. Instead of your goal being to promote your name and striving to become a renowned professional in your niche, your goal is to make every member of your team into a specialist, resulting in some form of minor fame for each of your employees.
Instead of becoming a professional with a team, your company works towards becoming a team of well-known professionals.
Benefits of Altrocentric Method
Here's a look at how companies can benefit by implementing altocentrism.
Financial advantages
Let's assume your product is of higher quality than the one of the rival company but cheaper because your name does not have enough authority to set a higher price. By boosting the profiles of your team members, you are actively boosting the authority of your brand name.
Regardless of the difference in quality, consumers will always have their doubts when buying a product from a manufacturer whose brand name is obscure. To put it bluntly, altocentrism boosts the authority of your brand name, giving you more freedom to increase the price of your merchandise since people will have more trust in your brand when they know your team members are all recognized experts in their field of work.
Psychological boons
Your team members will actually feel like team members—valid contributors to success. This way, they won't be just people who work for you... They become people who work with you.
When people know their reputation benefits from hard labor, they feel more motivated to push further and hone their skills. Furthermore, a higher sense of security will emerge, and if things were to take turn for the worse, the employee will have good qualifications, and he or she will not be completely anonymous when looking for the next job.
By promoting individualism, an impression of entitlement will follow, resulting in more enthusiasm for work, and better synergy within the team.
What You Need to Make This Shift
Taking into an account that your company operated on the basis of hierarchy so far, altrocentrism may seem like a scary path to take.
You need to have a strong bond with your employees before abolishing a great portion of your power over them. Time will be needed to adapt. For this to work, your employees will no longer be subordinates, they will have almost as much say in the matter of company's progression, future decisions, and ways how projects are going to be tackled, as you do.
Moreover, your team members need to be prejudice-free if they are to efficiently work with one another. Differences in gender and age must not be an obstacle towards mutual respect inside your team.
Luckily, this is a trend that has yet to spread, and with low number of altrocentric firms out there, yours will have the advantage of reaching the spotlight with more ease. You are more likely to be remembered if you stand out from your competition, and the altrocentric trait will help you get noticed. This will also send a good message to your potential consumers, and gain you some positive publicity.
Possible Risks
There is a great insistence on trust before incorporating the mentioned management method. No one can guarantee that one of your team members will not leave and start working as an individual, or form his or her own team. When someone builds his or her own reputation, a person may then go on to become a business owner. When employees are given more freedom, they are more likely to take matters into their own hands, and in the event of a dispute between team members when someone feels wronged, that person is likely to leave. This method can create formidable competition and possibly lose you customers.
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This alternative way of management opens up a lot possibilities in terms of advancement, both financially and mentally. Workers will end up improving because they want to, rather than improving because they need to. You become a leader which is more future oriented instead of using the outdated traditional approach.
You need to make constant endeavors to create an environment where altrocentric concept is possible, and viable switch, meaning selecting your staff, needs to be more meticulous.
