In his weekly column "Max's Column" for TBmagazine, Maxim Behar talks about the types of management and how modern leadership requires modern thinking and practices.

When we started our businesses three decades ago and couldn't quite get our heads around what we wanted to achieve (we knew what we didn't want, though), the first job any of us had was to hire... a secretary. Today that position, with absolute justification, is called "assistant," but back then it was more of a desire to show that you could be... the boss.

Yes, this is true in many companies to this day, but the truth is that too few managers, not only in Bulgaria, but also around the world, understand that the "General" mindset of being able to command has long been history. And it will never come back.

The vertical way of management no longer works. Directors, managers and whatever other job titles you can think of, must be convinced that they can be practically equal or even subordinate to a mere trainee who has been with the company for a few weeks but knows more and - why not - can do more!

The arguments for this are more than clear - we all already have equal access to information, to knowledge, to practice. All you have to do is do a proper YouTube search and you'll find lessons in minutes that a manager or supervisor would probably struggle to teach you.

And that's how vertical management became... horizontal. All over, everywhere, all the time. The difference is no longer in positions, or age, or years spent in a company. But only in experience and quick decisions. Whoever has them is already part of those who successfully command the business.