CEO vs Catalyst

CEO .........................................Catalyst
The Boss.................................. A Peer
Command-and-Control...........Trust
Rational................................... Emotionally Intelligent
Powerful...................................Inspirational
Directive.................................. Collaborative
In the Spotlight....................... Behind the Scenes
Order........................................ Ambiguity
Organizing................................ Connecting

CEOs and Catalysts work well in different organizational structures. CEOs work well in top-down organizations, while Catalysts work well in flat organizations.

Both organizational structures have its merits. Traditional heirarichal top-down organizations are functions of size and maximize economies of scale and concentration of resources. Flat organizations are the opposite and they are mainly a function of distance -their members are spread out and may not necessarily know each other.

From The Starfish and The Spider by Brafman andn Beckstrom