These sections are copied as-is from the book Reinventing Organisations by Frederic Laloux.
Self-management
Effective coordination with a peer-based system in which neither rigid structures nor consensus are needed. Even in large organisations.
Misconception 1: no structure, no management, no governance.
Form follows need. People take on roles, then discard them, and constantly change them. Power is shared. Decisions are made where they are made. Innovative ideas can pop up anywhere, anytime. Meetings are held when necessary. Temporary working groups are formed and then disbanded.
Management’s responsibilities have not disappeared, they are just no longer focused in their designated leadership roles. Because they are spread over a wide area rather than a narrow one, it can be said that Teal organisations have more leadership and management in spite of (or because of) the absence of full-time manager.
„Clouds constantly form in the sky and then disperse, because the water molecules condense or evaporate due to atmospheric conditions, temperature and humidity. Organizations are the same, structures appear and disappear according to the forces acting in the organization. When people are free to act, they perceive the presence of these forces and act in a way that best corresponds to reality”
Misconception 2: everyone is equal
The question is not whether everyone can have equal power, but how can everyone be empowered? The idea of teal does not solve the paradox of unequal power sharing, it transcends it. The hierarchy based on domination disappears, and in its place a number of overlapping hierarchies emerge (hierarchies of development, skills, talent, recognition and experience).
Wholeness
Organisations have always been places that encourage people to show only their business side and leave the rest of themselves outside the office. Rationality is the guiding principle, and our emotions and intuitions are not welcome, they are not considered appropriate for the workplace. However, Teal organisations have developed a consistent practice that invites us to reclaim our inner wholeness and bring it calmly to work.
„In the previous two chapters, we presented a series of simple exercises that are used by Teal Organizations to help us reconnect with our inner wholeness. At first, we may feel vulnerable when we give more of ourselves to the environment and colleagues, but once we get used to it, it feels as if life has suddenly changed from black and white to colorful: it will be rich, vibrant and full of meaning. This also makes sense from a business point of view: incredible energies and creativity are unleashed in workplaces where we feel we can really show ourselves.”
Evolutionary goal
Teal organizations have their own purpose and sense of direction. Rather than trying to predict and guide the future, the organisation invites its members to listen and understand what the organisation wants to become and what purpose it wants to serve.
The next step – the Evolutionary-Teal point of view – no longer views the organization as a property, nor as a common property serving different shareholders. Rather, it is considered an energy field, an ever-increasing potential, a form of life that transcends the stakeholders and strives to realize its own special evolutionary goal. In this paradigm, we no longer „operate” the organization, even if we are its founders or owners. Rather, we are the caretakers of the organization; the tool that monitors the creative possibilities of the organization to help the world in its work.
This approach is so fundamentally new and different that we probably don’t fully understand its consequences yet. After all, how can someone own an organization, or some of the organization’s shares, if we look at the whole as an energy field or an independent form of life? It is likely that new legal frameworks will have to be developed for this, which will determine the location of the investors, while also respecting the organization’s autonomy.
Photo (top right) from wallpapers.com.
The Teal Diary 