Ops Term of the Month: Heterarchy
Heterarchy is authority that follows the work, not the org chart.
"Heterarchy" shows up in strategy decks more than it shows up in practice. It describes a structure where authority isn't fixed to one seat. It moves to whoever the moment calls for.
Picture a jazz band. No one stands at the front waving a baton. The pianist carries the melody into the bridge, then hands it to the drummer for the solo, then it comes back. Nobody checks a chart to see whose turn it is. Every player can hear when it's time to step forward and when it's time to step back. That's not chaos. It's a different kind of structure, one where the ranking shifts by context instead of staying fixed at the top.
At E.TBD, this shows up in how projects actually run. A single project might have three leads active at once: one carrying the melody, the overall health and direction of the work, one holding the rhythm, keeping timeline and budget honest day to day, one stepping forward for the solo, owning whatever piece takes specific expertise. They coordinate and stay tight without a single conductor. Someone still holds the wider view, ready to step in if something needs resolving or extra coordination, but that’s not the same as directing every call along the way. And the same person might carry the melody on one project and play rhythm on another, because the rank was never really about the person. It was about what the work needed from them.
Sometimes the person with the least formal authority has the most authority on a given call. I manage Delshan's calendar, and when she asks for time the calendar doesn't have, it's on me to say we need to look further out, not to squeeze something in sideways. As things got busier over the years, we collaborated to build a tiered system, sorted not by who's asking, but by what kind of request it is and how time-sensitive that type of ask tends to be. I hold reserved space by tier so a real, urgent request still has room to land. None of that happens because I outrank her. It happens because on this one question, the authority sits with whoever has the clearest view of it.
None of this works without trust. A heterarchy only holds together if everyone actually believes the lead should be wherever the moment puts it. Take the trust out, and what's left is just people quietly fighting over who's in charge. When it's working, that's why the song doesn't fall apart. Nobody's waiting on permission to lead their part. They just do.
This piece is written by Kendra Corbin, E.TBD Operations and Communications Coordinator.
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