🧐 So What is the Beyond Hierarchy Project❓

NOTE: Once we get going, we will publish roughly weekly and share the writing between us. However, to kick things off over the next few days, I’m sharing more details about the project to show how you can benefit and bring your unique value.

We are starting with a collective of ten experts who, together, have over 200 years of lived experience in new ways of working beyond traditional hierarchies. We’re not here to sell you another framework or promise easy answers. We’re here to share the blood, sweat, and tears we’ve shed along this road, along with our peak experiences - and to invite you into the conversation to share some of yours with us.

The Reality Check: Transformation is Hard

Let’s be honest: transitioning beyond hierarchy is hard work. If you’ve tried new approaches and felt confused, frustrated, or like you’re making it up as you go along - that’s completely normal. The struggle isn’t a sign you’re doing it wrong; it’s a sign you’re doing something genuinely transformative.

Too much of what’s out there is idealistic fluff that sounds good but leaves you stranded when reality hits, and despite all good intentions, people revert back to old (largely unconscious) habits. This project is different. It is to share what we know about what actually works, what doesn’t, and why. And to find out what you know that we don’t.

What We’re Building Together

1. We write articles to share expertise

Share our actual lived experience and expertise, including the failures and breakthroughs that taught us the most. Ask the hard questions about what’s really working on the bleeding edges of organisational evolution. Explore possibilities that emerge when we stop accepting “that’s just how things are done”

2. We start conversations that become global research into best practices

Use the data we collect from the field to develop and curate cutting-edge insights. Take meta perspectives on different approaches to see how they fit together.

3. We metabolise all of this to a crowd-sourced book

Organise what we discover into accessible patterns and structures, and the vision is to end up with a crowd-sourced book to support people who are just curious, or those just starting to experiment but are struggling, or those who are succeeding and want to go deeper.

Your Experience & Questions Shape This Journey

Here’s what makes this different: we are leading this, but you’re not just a reader - you’re a co-creator. Your experiences, questions, and insights will directly influence what we explore and how we organise this knowledge. Help us understand what matters most to you. Answer these quick questions to tell us where you are in your journey, your challenges and successes.

Shape Our Research

‼️ Don’t Skip This Bit: Why You Should Fill Out This Short Form ‼️

Your unique perspective matters more than you might think. While transforming how we work together will take generations to fully unfold, every insight you share moves us closer to that future. By filling in this short form, you’re not just solving your own challenges - you’re contributing to a movement that will outlast all of us. Your experience becomes part of the collective wisdom that helps others navigate their own journey beyond hierarchy. Together, we’re building something that transcends individuals and organisations, creating lasting change in how humans collaborate to face the challenges of the polycrisis.

I’ll be back in a few days with more info about who the project is for, and then we’ll make a start with the articles.

Nick Osborne from Evolving Organisation, on behalf of The Beyond Hierarchy Collective.