There are various frameworks and approaches to structure our organisations in beneficial ways – as discussed in Alternative Structures. Here we raise our perspective to a slightly higher altitude, to look at the overall strategy and design of the org. By considering our work, careers and organisations as if they are systems, each with their own dynamics and flexible architectures, we can take fresh approaches to even some of the most presupposed attributes of our working lives.
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Can I get that in Teal?
Teal is a classification for pioneering organisations, used in Reinventing Organizations, by Frederic Laloux.
Its purpose is to explain the features and characteristics of organizations, emerging all over the world, that operate in a very different and perhaps more evolved way. They have been labelled (for now) Teal Organizations.
The Teal paradigm describes approaches to new ways of organising and working from the perspective of an evolution in human consciousness, transcending current levels of understanding and behaviour that are impulsive, conformist and so on. It emphasises the value of self management and provides several models for structuring an organisation, along with numerous case studies.
Read: → Reinventing Organizations → Reinventing Organizations Wiki
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A common issue arising from our research seems to be the contradictory approaches of whether to apply more or less structure to our organisations. On the one hand, pioneers are loosening the old links and definitions (e.g. with Hierarchy-Lite approaches), while on the other hand deploying highly formalised processes, tools and structures (e.g. with some of the Digital Evolution methods).
This trend towards simultaneous decoupling and tightening doesn't have to be antagonistic. The calculated implementation of formalised tools, patterns and frameworks can facilitate and amplify our capacity to let go of power-based corporate relationships, equipping the team to be self-driven towards shared organisational goals.
With its increasing popularity in big and small organisations, Design Thinking can be a catch-all term for a range of strategies that broadly follow a human-centred approach. Solutions to problems are discovered by empathising with the user, customer or audience, and generating ideas based on their real needs, before focusing in on specific ways to meet those needs.
This kind of design-driven strategic framework can be applied to the entire business, to rethink it from the ground up.
The main steps in Design Thinking:
– The typical six stages of Design Thinking, from Design Thinking: Study Guide by Nielsen Norman Group.
Learn more:
<aside> 🤝 Related: See the Human-Centric Business section in Principled Ethos for more about human-centric principles of business philosophy.
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A field of design practice has emerged in which we are encouraged to consider the entire organisation and its activities in systematic ways, and design the business.
Learn more: