I just want to add that being "low-hierarchical" sounds great, but often it just creates implicit informal hierarchies based on seniority, expertise, past relat

I just want to add that being "low-hierarchical" sounds great, but often it just creates implicit informal hierarchies based on seniority, expertise, past relationships, etc. For some people, this can be harder to navigate than traditional hierarchies that are more clear and explicit. Whether this is part of the problem here is impossible to say without knowing more about the situation, but it's something to keep in mind. He may see his teammates as less approachable than you do.