"Why are there no organizations that are not hierarchies?" my friend asked. It was the beginning of a soliloquy and he wasn't actually interested in an answer. Which is fine, as I quite like his diatribes.
Yet, there are a number of organizations that have attempted to flatten hierarchies to the point of almost non-existence. One of those efforts is Sociocracy, a governance technology that mixes Quaker egalitarian meeting practices with 21st century ideas of productivity.
There are three excellent places to learn Sociocracy.
Sociocracy.info was an early mover in the movement. Unfortunately, the owner recently announced a move on to other interests, so this probably won't be actively updated. It still makes my list because the content here is well written and easily understandable.
Sociocracy for All is the heir apparent of Sociocracy.info. They are well organized and have a huge amount of resources, both free and purchased. Their "Start Here" page page is a wonderful benefits-based introduction to Sociocracy.
Sociocracy 3.0 takes everything you learn at the first two sites and applies it to a technical shop. If you're already using some version of Agile, this will most likely be a natural fit. They have excellent the resources for personal learning as well as group learning. The guide they have produced is available in multiple languages (English, French, German and Hebrew).
So, while there may not be a lot of non-hierarchical organizations at the moment, with more people exposed to Sociocracy and similar governance models, I hope that will change!
References
Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash