I’ve been thinking about hierarchies lately.
OK fine, I think – and – write – about – this – a – lot.
It’s easy to have misunderstandings about hierarchy: what it does, what it doesn’t, how it helps, and how it hurts.
To be straightforward about it: hierarchy does not equal “bad.” It’s how we view the hierarchy that matters. To clarify, let’s compare and contrast 2 ideas:
- A Hierarchy Of Purpose, and
- A Hierarchy Of Power
A Hierarchy Of Purpose
A Hierarchy Of Purpose is voluntary. I choose to submit to you in certain instances because I recognize you have more expertise than me in that particular area.
It’s purposeful — humble and wise.
“Self-managing” organizations are built using this kind of hierarchy.
This resembles the hierarchies we see in biology, where parts of cells aren’t jockeying for “position” or “power” but simply do what they were designed to do: mitochondria aren’t fighting with the nucleus to be “in charge.” In nature, trees don’t consider themselves “higher” or “better” because they grow on “top” of the grass — these kinds of “power-related” constructs and framings are frankly absurd in this context.
Hierarchies Of Purpose are designed to work together to accomplish something the parts could not do separately, and they do it through modesty and deference.
A Hierarchy Of Power
A Hierarchy Of Power is involuntary. This happens when one entity has been granted (or has usurped or seized) power it functionally and experientially doesn’t deserve and/or should not have. This hierarchy often feels wonky and weird.
Have you ever met a “leader” that absolutely should not be one? Yeah… wonky and weird.
Most organizations are built using this kind of hierarchy.
That’s not to say all organizations are full of leaders who should not be (although Gallup research says this is actually quite true), but it IS to say this kind of hierarchy structurally promotes that problem.
And, in a fabulous plot twist, a Hierarchy Of Power isn’t actually very powerful. It ends up fragile and fragmented, because it has no real “center” holding it together… the primary force that keeps it functioning is fear.
A Hierarchy Of Power is also based on something I call the Illusion Of Control.
The Illusion Of Control
I get it: uncertainty is one of the most hated of all human afflictions. (I’m pretty sure it’s up there with fear of death and fear of speaking… and maybe we hate both of those things because they’re actually about uncertainty??)
So we do our best, including giving ourselves over to mighty hallucinations, to convince ourselves that we have control over… whatever it is.
But the truth is: you have almost no control of anything outside of yourself. Your kids, your partner, your pets… you might think you can control them but think harder… you can’t. We convince ourselves that we have control, and this illusion persists strongly in a Hierarchy Of Power.
Do you think you can control your “direct reports” at work?
Anything that involves any level of coercion does not count. Why? Because with coercion you can get compliance, but whenever we have involuntary compliance we have lost Purpose.
And here is the greatest irony: in Hierarchies Of Power we have actually LOST our true Power, because alignment of Purpose is where true Power lies.
Not Above, But With
A couple weeks ago, a tech writer I follow posted about Meta firing “leakers” — people who shared confidential, internal information outside the company. The whole piece is worth reading (it’s quite short!), because it illuminates something wholly connected to today’s topic: namely, what keeps people from sharing secrets isn’t fear, but honor.
Or one could say: purpose.
Contrast Meta with Netflix, where there are almost zero leaks, ever. Why? To my knowledge, there are actually fewer “boundaries” for Netflix employees. So what’s the difference? Netflix is simply full of people who don’t want do leak things. And I would bet this is because they feel like they are part of a Hierarchy Of Purpose, not one built around Power and fear.
The Illusion Of Control isn’t serving any of us. We are not “above” but “with” — and we would be wise to remember this.
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P.S. If you wish to go there, we are also bordering on something quite Spiritual when we discuss such topics as humility and voluntary submission. Perhaps that will be a future article; for now you’re welcome to check out this podcast (especially recommended if you come from a Judeo-Christian worldview).