I recommend reading about the cybernetic concept of viable systems[1], and in particular the Viable Systems Model of organizations (VSM); [2] Cybernetics is the

I recommend reading about the cybernetic concept of viable systems[1], and in particular the Viable Systems Model of organizations (VSM); [2] Cybernetics is the science of self-regulation as reaction to changes in the environment. The VSM theory poses that, for any complex system to become sustainable, it needs to adapt to changes in the environment that would tear it apart. Enduring organizations are structured as a loose fractal hierarchy, where a core "policy-making" subsystem decides what is the defining essence of the organization. Other types of subsystems would distribute the signals and process, them to get work done towards what constitute 'progress' and 'change' in the system. This core sends regulatory signals to the other subsystems to react and adapt against environment external signals, to keep the whole system alive and working efficiently. The strength and variety of the external and internal signals between subsystems could be measurable, defining a model to predict what complexity must possess the organization to deal with its environment and what signal strengths may break it. Thus the whole organization may change greatly and evolve as reaction to changes in the environment, but the core subsystem will decide what parts of the organization must remain constant to keep its essence intact. According to this model, a leaderless organization would not need to have a single person in a leadership role, but would still need to have this core to define its essential characteristics; otherwise it couldn't work as a coherent organization working towards well-defined goals, but a loose movement pulling in all directions at once. Edit: elucidate the main points. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viable_system_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viable_system_theory [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viable_system_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viable_system_model