Anarchists Actually Have Something Interesting to Say about Leadership

When I was a first-year MBA student, we were assigned to study the culture of any organization we chose. I pleaded with my study group to focus on the Missing Link, an erstwhile bike shop in Berkeley where I had just bought a bike (that I still ride). The Missing Link was a worker-owned cooperative with no formal organizational structure. I told my group: We’re going to spend our lives in conventional hierarchical companies; let’s learn from an outlier. It was absolutely fascinating and educational. 

Along those lines, I was interested in a recent philosophy podcast (Philosophize This!) that addressed anarchy. It said that anarchy was misunderstood, possibly even purposefully misrepresented by some. Anarchists are not opposed to authority, but – according to Noam Chomsky – it is the job of any hierarchical authority figure to justify their existence. 

Wow. This would be quite an unusual expectation in most modern organizations. Typically, someone is put in a position of authority by another person (like a more senior leader) or group (like a board). New leaders will typically work to introduce themselves and take other steps for a smooth transition, but I have never seen a new leader make a presentation along the lines of “How I Justify My Existence.” 

What if they did? If you’re a leader, how could explaining your basic role build trust, confidence, and engagement with your people? How might it cause you to (helpfully) rethink some assumptions you have about your role and value? How could doing this strengthen your authority? Weaken it?