Laura Hilliger (She/Her)

You could replace the word "designer" with just about any other creative thinker and this article would still ring true. Where are the writers, the editors, the activists, the educators, the sociologists, filmmakers and musicians in open source? Open Source has traditionally been about code, and as much as some of us try to reach outside the silos, our mindset on "open" has been fiercely connected with technology. As we, the open source community, broaden our understanding of what "open" actually means – as we write books like the Open Organization or encourage fledgling open sub-communities like Open Education or design sustainable, open housing, community gardens et al – we create space for more people, including designers, to feel ownership in our collective projects.

One of the things I've been thinking about in terms of the extreme hierarchy vs no hierarchy is how to influence a cultural shift within a starkly traditional hierarchy. I think shades of grey come in when people "at the bottom" start using agile structures and open leadership where and when they can. They become catalysts where ever they are in the organization. Then, as those people "move up", they tend to attribute their professional advancement to the fact that they implemented techniques that weren't widely used inside the hierarchy. Those leaders then bring these insights up and up and up until at some point, open and agile is the way an organization functions. Cultural shifts for the win!