Mentoring as an Operating System: The Space Between Control and Trust.
There’s a space that exists between control and trust. When Buurtzorg’s Jos de Blok removed all managers from his healthcare organisation, he stepped into this space. He wasn’t adding a mentoring program — he was changing how work happens. Years later, Buurtzorg has transformed healthcare by living in this space.
Why Control Fails
We built traditional management for a simpler world. Today’s challenges need something different — the ability to create spaces where good work can happen on its own. When neuroscientist Paul Zak studied trust, he discovered something worth knowing.
Trust changes our biology.
When we feel trusted, our brains release oxytocin.
We become more creative, more connected.
But when someone controls us, stress hormones kick in.
We shut down. The very thing executives are trying to create.
Great work, performance, innovation, breakthroughs — become impossible.
A New Way of Working
Leading organisations are reshaping how work happens to induce trust and accountability. And in doing so, changing leadership positions to be great mentors and coaches.
Manager positions over time have become gate-keepers. Doing quality checking, rostering, reporting and tasks that are feeding the system, but not moving the needle. When you change how people work, it needs a new type of leadership.
At Gore, they replaced managers with “sponsors” — guides who help people find their way rather than tell them what to do.
When Culture Amp completely separated mentoring from day-to-day operations, they created two distinct paths: one for development and one for work tasks. Each person had a dedicated mentor focused purely on their learning and growth, while Team Leads guided the daily work and team goals. This clean split allowed for deeper developmental conversations without the complications of reporting relationships getting in the way.
This isn’t about removing all structure. It’s about finding a better way to work together. Like jazz musicians who know when to lead and when to support, these organisations have learned a new rhythm.
Mentoring as the Heart of Work
In these organisations, mentoring isn’t something extra — it’s how work gets done:
Decisions grow from conversations, not commands
Learning happens in the work, not separate from it
Problems get solved through shared wisdom
New ideas emerge from guided experiments
At Buurtzorg, when nurses face a tough challenge with a patient, they don’t run to a manager. They turn to each other. They ask questions. They share stories. They find answers together.
Simple Practices That Work
These organisations bring mentoring to life through specific practices that happen in the natural flow of work:
Case Clinics turn everyday challenges into learning moments. When someone faces a difficult situation, a small group gathers for an hour. One person shares their challenge while others listen deeply and ask questions that help new thinking emerge. No one jumps to solutions. Instead, the group creates a space where insight can surface. At Buurtzorg, nurses use these clinics to crack complex patient care challenges that once would have needed a manager’s input.
Learning Circles create regular rhythms of shared growth. Every week or two, teams gather to explore what they’re discovering in their work. At Gore, these circles have become where real innovation happens. Someone shares a challenge they’re working through, others connect it to their own experiences, and new possibilities emerge. These aren’t formal meetings — they’re more like conversations that help shape how work evolves.
Daily practices weave mentoring into every interaction:
Teams start meetings with “learning moments” — brief shares about recent insights
Projects pair experienced folks with newcomers, but both learn from each other
After key moments, teams pause to reflect: What worked? What didn’t? What did we learn?
People openly ask for help and offer support, knowing that teaching something often leads to deeper understanding
These practices aren’t add-ons to work — they’re how work gets done. They create natural moments where everyone can be both mentor and learner, regardless of their role or experience level.
Starting the Shift
For leaders ready to try this new style of work, here’s some practical things you can do:
Be Real: Share your own learning. Ask for help. Show it’s okay not to have all the answers.
Make Room: Create actual spaces and time for learning conversations. Protect them. Don’t let them get deprioritised.
Start Small: Let one team try new ways of working. Let trust build naturally.
Change How We Talk: Less about “driving performance,” more about “helping each other grow.”
Why This Matters
Organisations that work this way are seeing real results:
More new ideas
People stay longer
Work gets better
Change happens easier
People enjoy their work more
Research shows that the next generation (Gen Z) are actively looking for workplaces that trust more and control less. Unconscious un-bossing is showing a growing trend that the younger generation don’t want a management role.
This shift isn’t just nice to have — it’s becoming necessary. As work gets more complex and old ways stop working, organisations that trust more than they control will do better.
The question isn’t whether to make this change, but how to begin. As Zak’s research shows, when we trust instead of control, we don’t just work better — we come alive. In today’s world, that might be the most important thing of all.
Ready to explore this space between power and potential? Let’s talk about your organisation’s journey to trust.