There are lots of reasons hierarchy has existed for so long. I don’t plan to go into a historical or philosophical review here. It is not in my wheelhouse.
What is in my wheelhouse is the biological pull towards ease and efficiency. We humans have very protective systems which work very hard to keep us safe and balanced. Depending on our genes and our lived experience, we each have a different “window of tolerance.” Think of the window as the space in which things feel do-able. The outer edges may feel a little more tricky, but in general, your window of tolerance is the space in which you can find a flow state, accomplish tasks, and in general feel pretty competent. Outside the window we can feel overwhelmed and under-resourced, creating feelings of stress that detract from our optimal functioning in both professional and personal settings.
Enter collaboration. By nature, collaboration is vulnerable stuff. Most adults have experienced some sort of betrayal or let-down in their lives, if not full out trauma. Any number of situations or external stimuli can cause us to close our window or at the very least lower the shades. We fear many things – being hurt, being wrong, being less than perfect, hurting someone else, being blamed, and on and on. It’s really very unique for each person, though generally boils down to very simple themes. We don’t want to be hurt and we want to belong. Hence, we keep trying this collaboration thing but pull back when we inevitably get our feelings hurt or we feel unsafe.
So, back to hierarchy. We fall back into hierarchy and rigid rules when we feel unsafe. And, in our attempt to create safety, we undermine equity, making it unsafe for all. There is no safety in silos or blaming others. It is a false sense of security that actually adds bars to our windows, keeping us from exploring new possibilities. It feels safe because it others people and reenacts social castes. It feels safe because it also feels familiar and easy. It is what we have known for generations.
The real work lies in the “and.” Collaboration is getting vulnerable (which opens us up for hurt) and being a part of something. It recognizes that community is not about one right way or a line of folx in charge by rank. The work lies in resisting the urge to fall back in line and do it the “right way.” If there were a “right way” I don’t think we’d be in the spot we are today.
The hard work of collaboration is lifting up those shades and opening your window. Let in some fresh air (new energy, new ideas). Get a little cold or too hot. The beautiful thing of collaboration is that when it is working you are never alone, no matter how hard it is.