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10.13007/436

Ideas for Leaders #436

Hierarchical or Egalitarian? The Advantagesof Hierarchy

Key Concept

While hierarchies can be used by people in power tocontrol others, new research indicates hierarchies alsohelp people in lower positions to feel a sense of controland order in their lives. Change agents who areflattening hierarchies to create leaner, more effectiveorganizations must make sure that they don’tunintentionally undermine this sense of order.

Idea Summary

Hierarchies have been taking a bad rap. The mantrafor a number of years has been to ‘flatten’ theorganizations. Hierarchies were not only seen asinefficient, but worse: as a mechanism for the out-dated belief that leaders must ‘control from the topdown’. In place of hierarchies, flat organizationadvocates argued for a more egalitarian structure inwhich, for example, decision-making was distributedthroughout the company rather than be hoarded bytop management.

Through a series of seven empirical studies, a team ofresearchers have revealed that the prevailing wisdomabout hierarchical and egalitarian organizations maynot tell the whole story. It’s certainly true thathierarchies fulfil top-echelon leaders’ psychologicalneed for power and status. But hierarchies, theresearch shows, also serve an important psychologyfunction for those who are not in power: tocompensate for a lack of personal control, or thethreat of a loss of control, in their surroundings byoffering some sense of clear, orderly and predictablestructure.

When for whatever reason, people feel that they arenot in control over the events or situations aroundthem, they take comfort and a sense of control fromthe hierarchy. Through the hierarchy, they find thelogic and order that would be missing otherwise. Theyalso find comfort in the status quo that the hierarchyrepresents.

There are some caveats. The first is that the hierarchy

ShareAuthors

Friesen, Justin P.Kay, Aaron C.Eibach, Richard P.Galinsky, Adam D.

Institutions

York UniversityDuke University Fuqua School of BusinessUniversity of WaterlooColumbia Business School

Source

Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology

Idea conceived

April 2014

Idea posted

September 2014

DOI number

Subject

Organizational StructureDelegationLeadership

9/16/2014 Hierarchical or Egalitarian? The Advantages of Hierarchy | Ideas for Leaders

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There are some caveats. The first is that the hierarchymust indeed be structured. The compensatory senseof control that people take from hierarchies is lost ifthere is disorder or randomness in the hierarchy.

The second caveat is that the hierarchy must be onethat is fair and just. Hierarchies led by inconsistent,fickle leaders will fail to fulfil a compensatory functionfor those who feel their personal control threatened.

Business Application

While many leadership theorists might assume thatanyone below C-suite level would enthusiasticallywelcome the flattening of hierarchies, the truth ismore complicated. Leaders who are restructuring anorganization into a more ‘egalitarian’ model must notlose sight of the psychological comfort and sense ofcontrol that structure provides. If the hierarchy isgoing to be flattened, the change agents must clearlyhighlight that:

There will still be structure in place, only it will be simplified; and

There was unpredictability and disorderliness in the previoushierarchy that will be eliminated.

Moderation, as always, is more convincing than theextreme. Hierarchies can be an efficient structure forcompleting tasks, but can also be rife with unfairness.The best leaders will recognize the advantages anddisadvantages of both hierarchy and egalitarianismand strive to create the organization that builds on thebest of both.

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Further Reading

Seeking Structure In Social Organization:Compensatory Control And The PsychologicalAdvantages Of Hierarchy. Justin P. Friesen, AaronKay, Richard Eilbach & Adam D. Galinsky. Journalof Personality and Social Psychology (April 2014).

Further Relevant Resources

Justin Friesen’s personal website

Aaron Kay’s profile at The Fuqua School of Business

Richard Eibach’s profile at University of Waterloo

Adam D. Galinsky’s profile at Columbia Business School

The Fuqua School of Business Executive Education profile atIEDP

Columbia Business School Executive Education profile at IEDP

9/16/2014 Hierarchical or Egalitarian? The Advantages of Hierarchy | Ideas for Leaders

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