What I Want to Remember from "Reinventing Organizations"

Book:  Reinventing Organizations:  A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness, by Frederic Laloux

Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Organizations-Frederic-Laloux/dp/2960133501
Path to Discovery:   A mentor suggested I read this book when I shared that one aspect of my coaching practice involves coaching leaders in high tech who are leading change.  He felt that the topics in this book could be relevant and inspirational for these leaders.

In brief:  What did I take to heart?  
(A few things I want to remember, and some thoughts on application)

I appreciated that the thought process in this book went far deeper and broader than the concept of self-organizing teams.  The book applied lenses and frameworks that can be used to view any organization - and to create insight about the organization's strengths, limitations, and practices.

Integral model
Through reading this book, I realized that we can use an integral model as a lens through which to look at organizations -- not just individuals.   (Previously, I had been using the integral model for individual development.)  We can use the 4 quadrants of the integral model (intentional, behavioral, cultural, and systems) to better understand the organizations we are working with.   (For a quick visual depiction of the integral model (not from Laloux), see: http://www.businessintegral.com/approach/the-integral-model/.)   More specifically:

• We can use the model to ensure we are considering the interiority (thoughts, emotions, beliefs) of the individuals in the organizational system, which is equally important as the outwardly recognized behaviors of those individuals. 
• We can distinguish individual interiority and exteriority from collective interiority and collective external systems.   
• Our adjustments to organization design (e.g. Strategy, Structure, Systems, Metrics/Rewards, etc) may only address one quadrant of the integral model (collective exteriority/external systems). 
• To truly shift an organization, we can consider all four quadrants at once.  For instance, in addition to organization design (collective exteriority), we can develop the thoughts, beliefs, and mindsets of each individual (individual interiority).   Without a shift in thought, a revised structure may not help - it may only hinder. 

Stages of organizations
In my view, Laloux's model depicting the stages of organizations can be used as one lens to better understand team and organization challenges.  For example, it can be used to better understand lack of movement in an organization or team (otherwise known as "being stuck"). A team may get stuck when some members assume that the team is in one stage (e.g. orange), but others still harbor beliefs from another (e.g. amber).  For instance, if the manager believes the team is in orange, he may expect individuals to innovate and think for themselves; however, if the individuals still harbor unexpressed beliefs from being raised in an amber system, they may expect more direction and rules for behavior.  What happens when this discrepancy is unacknowledged?  The team is stuck.  In this example, the team isn't innovating but the manager doesn't know why; and the team doesn't know why the manager doesn't give more direction.   Looking at organizations through this lens can help us better understand individual and team behaviors; and if we want to develop a team, we can better understand what is the next step (vs. wondering why they cannot skip 3 steps). 

Organizations as living organisms:

The heart of the book points towards self-organizing teams (teal organizations).   In teal, organizations are not only self-organizing:  they are also seen by the members as developing organically, like a living organism (vs. a mechanical system), and they support individuals to reclaim their wholeness (including bringing their whole selves to their work). Individuals within teal organizations become adept at sensing what the organizations want to become, and what purpose they want to (and could) serve.

Teal practices, applicable beyond self-organizing teams:

It's important to note that an organization's members cannot move (successfully) to a self-organized structure unless the CEO and the board are ready.  However, they can adopt some of the practices without moving fully to a 100% self-organizing structure:  

• Advice process:  In this process, an individual is fully empowered to decide and act - but they must get advice from every interested and knowledgeable party first.  They weigh such advice carefully.  This is not consensus - so it doesn't slow the decision down like aiming for consensus does.  Including data and perspective from knowledgeable team members both increases the quality of the decision and enhances the ultimate support for the decision.  
• Appreciative inquiry:  Laloux also referenced appreciative inquiry (AI) as an exemplary future visioning and planning process for teal organizations.  In my view, AI can be used anywhere.  In grad school, we used it in a factory in Mexico. 

What questions am I left pondering?

• How many "teal" practices can an organization adopt productively without actually becoming fully "self-organizing" (with little direction from even the CEO and the board, and zero managers below the CEO)?  To what extent are there viable alternative organization structures, which support many teal values and strengths, without proceeding all the way to self-organizing teams?  For example, an organization could empower many teams, and evolve the boss-subordinate to mentor-coach, but still vest some leaders with decision-making power for major decisions (provided they follow the advice process).   
• I'd like to see an example of how a large high-performing "teal" organization moves with agility and grace - and consistently meets high performance goals while faced with a dynamic "VUCA" world.  Laloux has offered many examples, such as Patagonia.  I want a deeper perspective into multiple such organizations to better understand how it's done.
• I recently read an article that seemed to suggest that the processes of Holocracy can be just as stultifying and rigid as some of the old organization structures (though in a different way).   I'm curious to learn more about alternative practices.  It seems to me that within a "teal" philosophy, multiple variations of practices and processes could evolve.

© 2015 Kristen Lee.  All rights reserved