Yep, it's definitely the risk when you get rid of an explicit structure – it gets replaced by a new, implicit one. In contrast, Holacracy doesn't just get rid of hierarchy, it REPLACES it with another structure – and in many ways, it's MORE structure (unlike what the press says). See more in these two blog posts that were published in reaction to the press buzz and the misinformation:
- Five Misconception About Holacracy: https://medium.com/about-holacracy/da84d8ba15e1
- Zappos at Holacrach (by Zappos' Head of Labs Tech): http://rianschmidt.wordpress.com/2014/01/07/holacracy-at-zap...
But the nagging feeling is what this Valve employee (who was fired) described: The company is led by the bullies just like in highschool.