A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness
Frederic Laloux https://www.reinventingorganizations.com/
This was probably the biggest departure from the collection of management books that I’ve read so far. The author argues that all of the prior works fall into prior stages of organizational evolution. The future, in his mind, is self-management. There are attractive things about the future world that he proposes, but not so convincing evidence that it’s where we’re actually headed. There were only a few example organizations that he referred to in 2014. Ten years later, I haven’t heard of a notable push into “Teal.”
Still, I think the ideas were worth considering. There are certainly weaknesses in the current operating model. Even if becoming the “Teal” organizations described in the book is not in the cards, we might still consider how to permit more autonomy and reduce dependence on rigid hierarchical structures.
Notes
With no middle management and little staff, Teal Organizations dispense with the usual control mechanisms; they are built on foundations of mutual trust. Zobrist has written a book outlining FAVI’s practices that is subtitled: L’entreprise qui croit que l’Homme est bon (“The organization that believes that mankind is good”). The heart of the matter is that workers and employees are seen as reasonable people that can be trusted to do the right thing. With that premise, very few rules and control mechanisms are needed.
Page 80
I can dig that. Whether or not I ever land in an org without managers, I’d like to be in a place where people are seen as good and are trusted to do the right thing. It’s sort of the antithesis of a security professional’s mindset though. Maybe I need a new field.
Amber and Orange Organizations come with organization charts. Boxes on the charts come with titles and job descriptions, which in turn come with an implicit expectation: people must adapt to the box they have been recruited or promoted into. Teal Organizations reverse the premise: people are not made to fit pre-defined jobs; their job emerges from a multitude of roles and responsibilities they pick up based on their interests, talents, and the needs of the organization
Page 90
I feel like this is shown in sports. The uniqueness of skills is apparent and coaches are expected to coach to the players they have. The Patriots with Randy Moss played offense differently than they did without him. Again, I think a concept that I’d take from the teal world, even if I can’t get all the way teal.
The advice process is a simple form of decision-making that transcends both consensus and unilateral action.
Page 102
In the Teal world, anyone can pull the trigger on decisions provided they have consulted the appropriate affected parties. It is not necessary that the parties all agree or that a higher-up sign off. The decision is acceptable as long as it has followed the advice process. That does sound like a way to remove some friction for getting things done. It assumes that they have full access to financial information, including any other pending expenses or initiatives. I understand why this is a scary concept to most organizations. I say this though from a work history where employees (including myself) have always been in the dark about the real financial details. If everyone involved was aware, different conversations could happen and it’d be easier to trust that the decisions were made with the appropriate context.
I finally figured out that not every crisis can be managed. As much as we want to keep ourselves safe, we can’t protect ourselves from everything. If we want to embrace life, we also have to embrace chaos.
Susan Elizabeth Philips on page 104
Word. This feels in line with Nassim Taleb’s black swans.
Pages 107-108
- Workers are lazy. If they are not watched, they will not work diligently.
- Workers work primarily for money. They will do what it takes to make as much money as possible.
- Workers put their own interest ahead of what is best for the organization. They are selfish.
- Workers perform best and are most effective if they have one simple repeatable task to accomplish.
- Workers are not capable of making good decisions about important matters that affect the economic performance of the company. Bosses are good at making these decisions.
- Workers do not want to be responsible for their actions or for decisions that affect the performance of the organization.
- Workers need care and protection, just as children need the care of their parents.
- Workers should be compensated by the hour or by the number of “pieces” produced. Bosses should be paid a salary and possibly receive bonuses and stock.
- Workers are like interchangeable parts of machines. One “great” worker is pretty much the same as any other “good” worker.
- Workers need to be told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Bosses need to hold them accountable.
Those assumptions represent the basis for traditional management systems. Even if leaders would claim to have a more positive view than the quotes above, the rules and procedures in place at most organizations essentially communicate this message. It is disempowering for workers who operate at less than their full potential because of the systemic boundaries. It’s also just unpleasant.
The way information flows illustrates how assumptions (conscious or unconscious) shape organizational practices. In most workplaces, valuable information goes to important people first and then trickles down to the less important. Sensitive information is best kept within the confined circle of top management. If it must be released more widely, it needs to be filtered and presented carefully from the best possible angle. The underlying assumption is that employees cannot be trusted; their reactions could be unpredictable and unproductive, and they might seek to extract advantages if they receive too much information. Because the practice is based on distrust, it in turn breeds distrust among people lower in the hierarchy: What are the bosses concealing now?
Page 110
It’s not fun waiting for the secret meetings of important people to decide your fate while you sit in the dark.
most of the organizations in this research have done away with incentives altogether. Almost all organizations studied here have abandoned the practice of individual incentives.
Page 131
Daniel Pink’s Drive is referenced on the next page. Sticks and carrots are not optimal for thoughtful work.
We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity; more than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
the Jewish Barber in Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator quoted on page 173
What a great quote. I haven’t watched any of Chaplin’s work. It’s pretty cool that he mocked Hitler and Mussolini with a movie while they were in power.
Lauds:
- What has gone really well this year that we might celebrate?
Learning:
- What has been learned in the process?
- What didn’t go as well or might have been done differently?
- How do we “take stock” of where things are now compared to where we thought they might be?
Looking forward:
- What are you most excited about in this next year?
- What concerns you most?
- What changes, if any, would you suggest in your functions?
- What ongoing professional development will help you to grow in your current job and for your future?
- How can I be of most help to you and your work?
Setting goals:
The Center for Courage & Renewal performance review questions cited on Pages 185-186
- When you think about your work in the year ahead, what specific goals will guide you?
Those are not far from questions that I currently prefer.
Maintaining jobs artificially makes no sense from an Evolutionary Teal perspective. We value job security, but ultimately it is a notion inspired by fear. It neglects the fundamental truth that everything changes; it dismisses the possibility of abundance-that a person whose talents are wasted in an overstaffed organization will find a better way to express gifts where they are needed.
Page 188
This isn’t the part I originally applied the sticky note to. I had to think about it for a little bit. What was I to take away from this section about layoffs. I guess it’s like a breakup. It might hurt as it goes down, but if the relationship was unsustainable, it’s healthier to move on than to drag it out.
Welch’s book [Winning] is emblematic of a whole genre of business books that promise readers they will learn the secrets to make their company successful, increase profit, gain market share, and beat the competition. The implied promise, of course, is that these secrets will also make the readers personally successful, helping them beat their colleagues in the race to the very top where wealth and fame await the winners. Something is notably absent in these books: the purpose organizations serve. What makes “winning” worthwhile? Why do organizations exist in the first place, and why do they deserve our energy, talents, and creativity?
Pages 193-194
What are we doing here?
Most of us are tempted by power, money, and fame. When our mission is to serve others, we don’t think as much about ourselves. Channeling our energy toward worthy pursuits is infinitely more effective in governing behavior than draconian compliance programs.
Dennis Bakke quoted on page 202
Our underlying management paradigm today is based on trying to predict and control. And the challenge with that: it often gives us more illusion of control than real control…The deep challenge here: it requires letting go of our beautiful illusion of control, our comforting illusion of control. The illusion that we’ve done our job as leaders: we’ve done all the analysis, we’ve got the plan, things are going to go according to plan, we are in control. It’s a much higher bar, and a much scarier standard to let go of those illusions, to get clear on purpose and to stay conscious and present in every moment.
Brian Robertson quoted on pages 209-210
Teal organizations don’t set any top-down targets. You might remember that sales people at FAVI have no targets to reach. From an evolutionary-Teal perspective, targets are problematic for at least three reasons: they rest on the assumption that we can predict the future, they skew our behavior away from inner motivation, and they tend to narrow our capacity to sense new possibilities
Page 212
Today, there is almost too much focus on leadership, mainly because it is widely thought to be the key to economic success. In fact, the degree to which a leader can actually affect technical performance has been substantially overstated. …
On the other hand, the importance and impact of moral leadership on the life and success of an organization have been greatly underappreciated.
Dennis Bakke quoted on page 237
Can a middle manager put Teal practices in place for the department he is responsible for? When I am asked this question, as much as I would like to believe the opposite, I tell people not to waste their energy trying.
Page 238
Page 261
- [RHD] has defined for itself the following three basic assumptions: people are of equal human worth; people are essentially good, unless proven otherwise; there is no single way to manage corporate issues well.
- Morning Star’s way of operating is founded on two core principles: individuals shall work together with no use of force or coercion; individuals shall keep commitments.
- FAVI has articulated three basic assumptions: people are systematically considered to be good (reliable, self-motivated, trustworthy, intelligent); there is no performance without happiness; value is created on the shop floor.
The ideology of leadership and management that underpins large-scale human organizations today is as limiting to organizational success as the ideology of feudalism was limiting to economic success in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Gary Hamel quoted on page 285