Explore A Self-Managing Organization (SMO)

Many organizations today feel the strain of hierarchy—slow decisions, overwhelmed managers, stifled innovation, and talented people who disengage because the system leaves little room to lead. Self-managing organizations (SMO) offer a proven alternative, showing that more adaptive and human-centered structures can outperform traditional models.

Yet many leaders remain unaware that these approaches are already succeeding at scale. This interactive discussion is a session that introduces the core principles and evidence behind SMOs, translating research into practical insight for business and association audiences. The goal is simple: to spark informed curiosity and open a doorway to more resilient, participatory ways of working.

Deanna Doan will share her in depth research in this area and offer lessons learned from the experience in standing up this type of organization and tips on how to make it work.

Presenter — Deanna Doan

Deanna is an enabling partner and co-founder of Eleccion LLC. She has more than 20 years of consulting and leadership experience across government and commercial markets, with expertise in designing and implementing highly decentralized organizations. Prior to founding Eleccion, she was vice president at Allegheny Science & Technology, managing a diverse portfolio of programs across the Intelligence and DoD markets. Prior roles include advising senior intelligence community leaders on strategy and improvement initiatives.

Deanna holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in Operations Research from George Mason University, and is currently a doctoral student at Virginia Tech where her research focuses on decentralized organizational structures. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Lean Six Sigma green belt.