Time to look beyond hierarchies

Some years ago, I decided (against the conventional wisdom of that time) to ask a young MBA graduate we had hired from a top B school to mentor me as only a ‘digital native’ could. I was part of an organization with the usual hierarchies, where decisions typically flowed from top to bottom. That decision and the consequent experience over the years have taught me the valuable insight of how value can be found ‘anywhere on the pyramid’.
When it comes to organizational structures and hierarchies, one will find proponents of both the traditional structures as well as the flatter structures, largely prevalent in startups. It is believed that flatter structures allow for creativity to thrive, foster collaboration, and make teams more adaptable. Traditional structures are often viewed as bureaucratic, which hinder collaboration and are largely resistant to change. Proponents of the traditional top-down structures will obviously differ from the above line of reasoning quoting how tradi