Top Down vs Bottom Up: two very different approaches to organizational structure.

So there's the classical boss that kind of looks like this:

And then there's the new agey-listen-to-your-feelings boss that looks sort of like this:

Well, not quite, but I though it was a funny comparison.
Boss #1 is probably a managing "top down" believer, whereas boss #2 is most likely into "bottom up" or team-based philosophy. In a nutshell, #1 is a centralized leadership style in which all orders come from the "top," and #2 involves all the players and comes up with ideas together. In this age of Wiki, style #1 has a pretty bad rep, but I think there are pros and cons on both sides. #1 gets things done quickly but leaves out others and often overlooks great new ideas, whereas #2 functions like a true team but often gets stuck in the discussion stage. I haven't done the research but my feeling is that being too far to either extreme causes some pretty major team member dissatisfaction. People need strong, dependable leadership and they need their voices to be heard too... is that too much to ask?

In terms of student organization, I'm a firm believer that organizations should be primarily bottom-up. The main point is not to make money or attract investors; the point here is to create an amazing experience for the team and give everyone leadership opportunities (i.e. a voice). However, I do think that a good dose of top down is needed on occasion. To work this in, it's important to ascertain from the beginning who has what role and responsibility. Who is responsible for keeping conversations on track? Making sure deadlines are met? Complying with college rules? As long as this is clear, ruling with a firm hand every once in a while usually works out well.

And in conclusion, here is just one more illustration of this topic:

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