In leadership, a common hierarchy has one person at the top that oversees everyone else. That one person is responsible for making all the decisions and telling everyone else what to do. They are the leader and will be held responsible for the success and failure of their company or organization. This hierarchy has existed for so long that many people don’t think you can be a leader unless you are responsible for leading your group or organization.
Flat Hierarchy
Today, however, many people are starting to have leaders in a flat hierarchy organization. There are leaders in organizations where everyone is on the same plane. These organizations have no bosses and not one person has all the control. Many people would say that this type of a setup can’t exist and be successful because there is no leader. Some people would even say that leadership, success, and a flat hierarchy don’t belong in the same sentence.
Does this always have to be the case? Today in business, many companies say it doesn’t have to be that way and there can be many leaders on a flat plane. The Wall Street Journal article Who’s The Boss? There Isn’t One by Rachel Emma Silverman explained how some companies have gone to a flat hierarchy. The companies have taken the approach of having everyone on the same playing field.
They have set up their organizations where there is no one person that leads everyone. Instead, each person sets up their own projects and campaigns for others to work on the projects with them. In this sense each person has to be somewhat of a leader. They have to be able to get people to follow them without being given a title that is higher than everyone else. Valve Corp is an example of this type of leadership and flat hierarchy. In Valve Corp they feel that, “Instead (of having a boss), its 300 employees recruit colleagues to work on projects they think are worthwhile.”
Benefits
So what are some of the benefits of a flat hierarchy? Within a flat environment, there is no one boss so all the employees work together for the common good of the group. They all want to see the company be successful so they work hard.
Even though there is no one specific leader, each person has to be a leader at some time or another to get others to follow them. Each person has to lead the group on their specific project without being given a particular title. Once the group has accepted the project, they all work together and have to agree on a common consensus.
Another benefit of a flat work environment is that everyone has a say in the decisions. It is a complete democracy and the decisions are made based on a majority vote from all the employees. In this situation, the majority of the people are happy with the outcomes of the group because they had a say.
When it comes to salary, since they don’t have bosses, they vote on who should receive what salary. They decide based on the work each person has done and how they have performed.
Challenges
Just as there are benefits with this type of a system, there are also lots of challenges. There are many people that enter this type of a loose environment and find that it is not for them. They really like the structure that comes with a top-down hierarchy. They like to be able to climb the ladder to get ahead of others. At the same time there are people that like to have one single leader. They like having someone that will take responsibility for the problems that happen so they don’t get the blame.
In a flat environment no one leader has more say than another because it is a democracy. This can make it much harder to get things done because unless everyone is agrees on the decision it can lead to arguments or disagreements. This type of a work environment can also lead to frustration and slow progress (like with too many cooks in the kitchen).
When it comes to salary, it can turn into a situation where it is more of a popularity contest. Clicks can develop where one person becomes the de facto leader with everyone following him/her because they are the loudest or most dominant personality.
In a flat hierarchy, it can be very difficult to get rid of someone that is not performing well because everyone would have to come to a consensus to kick them out. This can make it easy for someone that is doing poorly to be a deadweight for the whole group.
My Thoughts
I think there are specific companies where this type of an environment could work and be really successful, but there are many areas where it will not work. In situations where decisions need to be made often and frequently and often, this setup won’t work. At the same time, in a design/product development environment this setup may be quite successful.
Have you ever worked in a flat hierarchy? If so, how did it work for you? Did you get many opportunities to be a leader? How did others respond to you? Was it easier to get things done or more challenging? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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