The old business mindset is that employees report up to a boss, and I think that mindset is old and needs to die a quick death.

In fact, the way that companies should re-think management is that all employees are self-empowered, and like their own business owner. I believe that everyone is their own CEO of one, they are responsible for their own strategy, knowledge, education, marketing, and building their own information strategies. You can read my blog post on you’re a company of one.

In fact, the way I manage a team of over half a dozen researchers is with this empowerment in mind. I tell them that I’m not their boss, but instead, I’m their client or customer. Why? I want them to be self-empowered, take accountability for their future and make informed decisions knowing that I believe in their expertise and trust them.

Why wouldn’t management have this mindset? If you’re willing to invest your time and money on hiring the best, you should treat them as the experts they are. Of course this doesn’t come without proper definition of defining the success criteria, putting ongoing training in place and setting up a performance tracking program. I’m no expert on these topics, and am learning ever day.

So if you work in a small company or big one, remember that who you report to isn’t your boss, but instead your client. Approach your career as a company of one, and you’re the CEO. Remember, your boss is really your client –you are empowered in your career, even if you work in a huge corporation.

Special thanks to Loic who kicked me over dinner to blog this –I was bashful to share this as a budding executive, I know I’ve a lot to learn, and I look forward to the comments below to drive new thoughts.

Guest Post: Jeremiah Owyang

Orginal posted here