Mayden was delighted to attend and speak on the panel at the University of Bath School of Management’s Inspiring Business event last month. The event was designed to foster connections between the university and the local business community.
Chaired by Margaret Heffernan, the panel discussed ‘The good, the bad and the ugly about business in the South West’. Our very own Philippa Kindon was honoured to join Greg Ingham (co-founder of Media Clash), David Kelly (CEO at Storm Consultancy) and Dimo Dimov (Professor at the School of Management), to explore this topic.
Fostering connections and exploring modern ways of working
The event allowed us to collaborate with like-minded people and organisations to explore modern ways of working.
A key message was that universities in the South West have so much to offer the local business community. Mayden benefits from strong relationships with a number of universities, particularly the University of Bath. We also support many university counselling services around the UK with our digital care record, iaptus. Other opportunities for us to work together include: offering placements to undergraduate students, Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects, networking and speaking at events, and collaborating on research projects. This also provides more opportunities to share our experiences of working within a flat organisational structure. We hope to show that it is possible to organise differently but still be incredibly (if not more) productive.
Fun overcomes fear
We shared Mayden’s innovative flat organisational structure and journey so far, including the importance of having fun whilst getting stuff done! This is a driver of success at Mayden; we want everyone to feel fulfilled and have the freedom to collaborate well to produce their best work.
Mayden is proud of its flat management structure. We believe that it allows people to thrive and progress in ways not typically possible in traditional hierarchical organisations. Everyone at Mayden has something unique to contribute, so it is important to provide the space and tools to allow this. It doesn’t matter if you are the newest employee or the longest serving – everyone has different skill sets, and this collaboration is what allows us to continue making a difference to healthcare.
Future challenges
Whilst we love to share our journey and learn from those we connect with, we know how we choose to work at Mayden won’t suit everyone. Sometimes it isn’t right for us, and we must think about how we can best organise to overcome future challenges, especially as we grow.
At this point in our journey, we recognise that to grow well, changes may happen to our organisational structure, which is only natural. There are two things, however, that must remain; we want to continue to effectively self manage, and we do not want to lose the Mayden feeling – that we care about each other, about our customers, and about changing what’s possible for clinicians and patients.
Reflecting on 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, we can reflect on what a great year it has been for Mayden and our way of working. We have been to various events, featured on the radio, and spoken on several podcasts . We are grateful for each and every opportunity to learn and grow our network in this way.
Read more:
Our book, Made Without Managers has been featured in Corporate Rebels ‘100 books on Progressive Organisations and Good Management’.
You can get your copy of Made Without Managers here.
