This article is a summary based on a text originally published by Corporate Rebels. We invite you to read the full version on their site.
With over 160 years of history and 100,000 employees, Bayer faces one of the most ambitious challenges in its trajectory: transforming its traditional management model into a network of self-managed teams under the Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO) approach. This initiative arises in response to internal problems such as excessive bureaucracy, performance challenges, and the need to adapt to a constantly changing business environment.
Since the arrival of CEO Bill Anderson in 2023, Bayer has committed not only to reorganizing itself, but to completely rethinking how it operates, with a focus centered on employees, customers, and investors.
Dynamic Shared Ownership: a new way to operate
DSO implies a radical change in how Bayer organizes and manages its work, breaking with traditional hierarchy to create a more agile system centered on value creation. This model is based on five main transformations:
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From shareholder value to mission and results Bayer seeks to transcend traditional financial indicators to focus on a meaningful mission: "Health for all, hunger for none". This involves eliminating bureaucratic processes that do not add value. A clear example was an oncology team that, when launching a vital medication, eliminated 800 unnecessary internal documents, managing to accelerate the time to market.
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From hierarchies to a network of autonomous teams Instead of rigid hierarchical structures, Bayer encourages the autonomy of cross-functional teams that work collaboratively. When a manufacturing team faced a problem with the FDA, they did not escalate the situation to higher levels; instead, they worked directly with other teams to meet established deadlines.
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From functions to value creation Bayer reorganized its structure around four types of teams:
- Customer teams: work directly with patients, consumers, and farmers.
- Product teams: develop solutions that solve specific problems.
- Technical teams: specialize in key capabilities such as R&D and supply chain.
- Support teams: provide necessary resources and tools. An innovative example was an Italian team that designed a low-cost support for patients with problems handling vials in days, instead of waiting years for a redesign.
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From annual planning to rapid cycles Bayer has replaced traditional annual plans with 90-day cycles, where teams set clear objectives, test solutions, and adapt quickly. Even its commercial teams in the U.S. have adopted a "brand marketplace" where employees assign themselves to priorities based on their potential impact.
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From reactive to creative mindset Bayer is challenging five obsolete cultural patterns:
- From preservation to possibility.
- From authority to collaboration.
- From scarcity to abundance.
- From certainty to discovery.
- From conformity to personal authorship. This seeks to empower employees to innovate and thrive in their work environment.
Transformational leadership
Leadership at Bayer has also evolved. Instead of dictating tasks, leaders act as facilitators with four key roles:
- Visionaries: work with teams to define meaningful purposes.
- Architects: help teams redesign customer-centered processes.
- Catalysts: promote collaboration between teams and eliminate silos.
- Coaches: guide teams in rapid cycles, fostering continuous learning.
A leader summed it up like this: "Our goal is for teams to achieve exceptional results without depending on us. It's a pride to see how they thrive on their own".
Initial results and challenges
Although Bayer acknowledges that transformation is not easy, the initial results are promising: more time dedicated to customers, more agile decision-making, and less bureaucracy. However, it also faces challenges, such as resistance to change: one third of employees are excited about the transformation, another third are skeptical, and the rest are waiting to see results before committing.
Beyond internal benefits, Bayer also seeks to save €2 billion in administrative costs, although the main focus remains unleashing the potential of its talent to drive innovation.
Redefining the way to lead and work
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This March 31, 2025 at 11:00 am (CDMX), join us for a dynamic conversation about the change from hierarchical structures to networks of autonomous teams. In this event, designed for human resources professionals, culture management, change management and leadership of key areas, we will explore how to transform your organization to improve agility, foster innovation and empower teams.
Discover how adopting a distributed leadership model and agile organizational culture can accelerate decision-making and eliminate silos. Reserve your spot and be part of a movement that is redefining the future of work.
A bet on the future of work
If Bayer successfully implements DSO, it could become a model for other organizations seeking to abandon traditional structures and build more human and effective work environments. This transformation demonstrates that changing the rules of the game in large corporations is possible, although it requires commitment, vision, and courage.
To learn more details and explore other cases of organizational transformation, visit the original article at Corporate Rebels.