Why are there so many self-managing companies in Spain?
New Leadermorphosis podcast episode with Xavier Costa
I’ve started up my podcast, Leadermorphosis, again after a year’s hiatus. Last week I spoke to Xavier Costa, co-founder of Full Circle Team here in Barcelona, and also one of the co-founders of Krisos, the investment fund that buys and transforms organisations into self-managing companies.
We started by talking about why there seem to be so many self-managing organisations in Spain. Xavi was quick to point out it’s still a small minority of companies, and also that it’s not across the whole country, but more in the boundaries of Spain that we see new ways of organising flourishing – in the Basque Country (the birthplace of the NER approach which has transformed more than 100 businesses into self-managing organisations in Spain alone), in Catalonia, in Andalusia. These are also places with a rich history of cooperatives – most famously, Mondragón.
I was also fascinated to discover on a Spanish civil war tour in Barcelona that in 1936, anarchists effectively controlled the city for nearly a whole year after resisting a fascist military uprising. Workers collectivised whole industries, including transport, telecommunications and manufacturing, and wages were often equalised (one of the features of the NER approach today, in fact). Perhaps an anarchist spirit lives on, somehow. I’m fortunate to be able to learn directly from a number of self-managing companies here in Catalonia like software development company Basetis, energy cooperative Som Energia, and (one of my favourites) a biodynamic wine company called Recaredo, to name just three.
Xavi was speaking to me from the office of the second company that Krisos bought just last month. Their first purchase two years ago, a fifty-person aerospace company called Indaero in Seville, has produced some impressive early results:
From five hierarchical levels to seven self-managed teams
From eight managers (22%) to twenty three employee representatives (52%) involved in decision-making in three key forums (‘Steering’, ‘Commitment’, and ‘Caring’ teams)
From women representing 18% of leadership roles, to 62% being involved in decision-making
From EUR 470k profit (EBITDA) to 800k+
From salaries 4% below the national average to 20% above the national average
But it’s about more than just financial results. As Xavi puts it, Krisos is a prototype to show society that another economy is possible. As well as creating better paid jobs, a key part of their model is investing heavily in people’s professional development, in skills such as coaching, facilitation, and conflict resolution.
Much of our conversation was about the inner work that’s needed. As Xavi said, there is no transformation without inner transformation. He thinks of it as healing, even. So many of us have worked for years just for a salary, and with very little say in decisions that affect us. Managers have fought hard to climb the ladder and have spent their careers doing what they think is best, but often at the cost of their own authenticity and wholeness. Xavi likes to say that really, when it comes down to it, all of these transformations are about moving organisations from fear to love.
It’s a beautiful conversation, and a brilliant one to restart the podcast. You can listen to the full audio episode via Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or via the YouTube channel, or wherever you get your podcasts.