Acknowledging Your Hierarchy

“We just aren’t that hierarchical.” If that is your take on your organizational culture, consider -- Do your frontline employees feel the same way?

Often when I note for a director that they should not circumvent a line manager or should have mechanisms for anonymous feedback, I receive a little push back along the lines of the organization being more open and casual and therefore not requiring formal communications channels.

It’s easy for the lead decisionmakers in an organization to perceive organizational culture as open and egalitarian, but the perception from below is often very different. If you are a holacracy, awesome, but there are relatively few of those and there is a reason that they are ruled by layers of upfront rules and commitments.

You can’t hire staff into an org that has layers of managers and direct reports and then expect that employees won’t feel the pressure to defer to requests from above. Assuming that everyone has equal ability to say no or feels equal comfort in balancing requests from multiple parties that are higher in the hierarchy ignores the inherent power differential of a setting where people are evaluated, fired, and promoted.

I have never encountered an organization that is hindered by too much transparency in process, but I regularly encounter organizations that are held back by lack of clarity and accountability.

Just because you want everyone to feel equally comfortable in voicing feedback or concerns, doesn’t mean they do. Without articulating processes for decision making, direction of staff, and sharing feedback, you can bet wires will get crossed and issues will go unaddressed. Even if you aren’t feeling it… yet.