Beyond Borders or our partner organization in Haiti, Limyè Lavi? You may have concluded that no one is in charge. Or maybe you decided that everyone is in charge. In either case, you would have been right. You see, back when we got started, we decided to run an experiment. What would happen if everyone on staff was a co-director and we had no single boss and no hierarchy? What would happen if we made all our decisions by consensus? Sound crazy? Well, the experiment has been running for nine years, and no one is in a rush to revert to a traditional structure.

There are certainly advantages to hierarchy, but a major disadvantage is that when power becomes centralized, the voices of those further down the organizational chart can be ignored and their wisdom underutilized. People at the bottom can feel unappreciated and lose their motivation. At the same time, people at the top can become domineering and isolated from reality.

We have found our participatory organizational structure to be liberating, empowering, and motivating. Each staff member has a particular area of responsibility. But we also each have the freedom and responsibility to help establish the general direction of the organization. Consequently, staff members take great care to make sure our work is done well. Decisions may take more time; but because they endure scrutiny by many and must be made with everyone’s consent, decisions are usually better grounded and more broadly supported. We have room for improvement, but having everyone in charge forces us to listen more attentively to one another. That alone has made our experiment a success.