Almost without exception, organizations contain a pyramid-shaped formal hierarchy of some sort. It is also known that organizations harbour frequent informal relations that do not necessarily follow patterns set by the formal hierarchy. While the shape and features of formal hierarchies are known and understood by most members of organizations, very little is known — by either academics or practitioners — about the shape and attributes of these informal relations. This paper explores regularities in the shape of verbal ties — a relationship that escapes most formal regulation — across the hierarchies of diverse organizations. Results indicate that the verbal networks of the upper echelons of organizations rarely follow a classic hierarchical pattern. Rather, several different morphologies surface. The most common of these regularities — the centre-periphery pattern — has been frequently observed in large human systems, including tribal and modern societies, national and international economies, industries, and political systems, but has not been studied inside organizations.
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