The Cathedral and the Bazaar is the book on open source. It contrasts closed source software development (the cathedral), where a centralized and hierarchical authority designs and builds a well-defined system, and open source development (the bazaar), where a decentralized community of contributors can browse, experiment, and collaborate within a modular and adaptable system. The book argues that the bazaar model is more effective, innovative, and resilient than the cathedral model, and in many ways, brought the ideals of the open source movement to the mainstream.
I’ve written before about bringing software development methodology to management, so what if we apply this cathedral vs. bazaar metaphor to people management styles?
Cathedral people management
The cathedral manager is like the architect of the cathedral. They have a clear and detailed vision of what they want to achieve, and how to get there. They plan everything in advance and assign specific roles, tasks, processes, and standards to their team. They monitor and control their team’s work, and give them precise instructions, feedback, and guidance.
The cathedral style of people management is characterized by a high degree of control, direction, and standardization with problems and solutions being identified and defined in a top-down manner. Its advantage is that it can produce predictable and reliable results, especially in complex and stable environments. It can also create a much-needed sense of order, clarity, and security for members of the team, who find comfort in knowing what is expected of them and what they can expect in return.
The disadvantages of the cathedral style of people management are that it can stifle creativity, speed, and innovation among knowledge workers, especially in dynamic and uncertain environments that require a lot of experimentation and adaptation. It can also create a sense of rigidity, bureaucracy, and hierarchy for the team, who may feel constrained, micromanaged, and disempowered.
Bazaar people management
The bazaar manager is like the organizer of the bazaar. Leaders in this style tend to have a broad vision, a flexible plan, and a flat network of roles and responsibilities for the team. The manager acts as the facilitator, the coach, and the enabler of the team’s work, defining goals and objectives and providing guidelines, feedback, and resources, while empowering the team to define their own tasks, processes, and standards, encouraging them to explore and innovate.
The bazaar style of people management is characterized by a high degree of autonomy and collaboration, with problems and solutions being identified and defined by the team. Its advantage is that it can produce innovative and resilient results, especially in dynamic and uncertain environments. It can also create a sense of freedom, empowerment, and ownership for team members, who can shape their own work, express their own voice, and pursue their own growth.
At the core of the bazaar style is the belief that team members are competent, self-motivated, and capable of aided self-direction. They encourage their team to explore their interests, share their ideas, and contribute their skills to further the team’s goals. This approach can also foster a culture of openness and trust among the members of the organization, who can learn from each other, support each other, and challenge each other.
Diagnose the situation, then pick your style
Whether you’re a manager or an individual contributor (IC), know which style you default to—and which your manager defaults to. Your team might be a mix, or the right approach might shift depending on the scenario. That’s fine. Here’s how the two styles typically differ:
- By industry—The self-direction of the bazaar model wouldn’t be a good fit for the military, given the stakes. The cathedral model’s rigidity would suffocate a fast-paced startup that needs room to experiment.
- By individual—A junior engineer needs the structure and clarity the cathedral model provides—“here’s the issue, here’s the approach, and here’s an example PR to reference.” A senior engineer might chafe at that much direction, preferring freedom to find problems nobody’s filed yet and propose solutions the team hadn’t considered. Likewise, some people are less comfortable living with ambiguity, while others prefer uncertainty and the autonomy that comes with it.
- By role—Outside engineering, the cathedral model fits a line cook—the recipe is well-defined and consistency is everything. The bazaar model fits chefs who value creativity and experimentation as they seek to create new dishes.
- By work environment—Distributed and async teams need more bazaar-style management because you can’t watch people work. Cathedral managers achieve visibility through direct oversight—standing over someone’s shoulder, literally or figuratively. In distributed teams, transparent workflows provide that same visibility without the micromanagement.
Find the right balance—and be willing to switch as the situation demands. Match the management to the moment.
Putting it into practice
For managers: Distributed teams generally thrive with bazaar-style leadership because it emphasizes autonomy and trust—exactly what you need when you can’t see people working. But be ready to shift toward the cathedral when onboarding new team members, during crises requiring rapid coordination, or when establishing standards everyone must follow. The point isn’t ideological purity; it’s flexibility. If someone’s work starts slipping, lean into more cathedral-style management and the visibility advantages of working in the open until they’re back on track.
For ICs: Knowing your manager’s style helps you meet them where they are. If they lean cathedral, proactively share progress and ask clarifying questions before proceeding. If they lean bazaar, take initiative and document your decisions. Senior ICs often operate bazaar-style regardless of their manager—defining problems, proposing solutions, and bringing others along through influence rather than authority.
Cathedral and bazaar aren’t personality traits—they’re management operating systems you can swap depending on the moment. For distributed teams, the default should lean bazaar (autonomy plus transparency), but knowing when to shift toward cathedral matters just as much. As a manager, ask yourself: are you building a cathedral or a bazaar? As an IC, ask yourself: do you prefer working in a cathedral or a bazaar? And most importantly—are you and your manager on the same page? Get the balance right, and your team ships better work with less friction.