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Organizational Development has evolved together with human society development. Anthropological investigations have identified at least 5 distinct organizational structures throughout human history.
This phenomenon has been explained in various ways by various specialists. In 2014, Frederic Laloux began examining upcoming enterprises that were distinguishing themselves from established corporations in their management style.
Laloux adapted philosopher Ken Wilbur's concept of using colors to illustrate the non-linear development of human civilizations for the purpose of naming the successive phases of management evolution.
Red, amber, orange, green, and teal have been used to indicate the 5 major organizational development phases that correlate to the evolution of human civilization.
The primary objective in developing the idea of Teal Management was to capitalize on complementary staff skills by consolidating and integrating their knowledge at all levels.
The color Teal is used to categorize companies that reject hierarchical and organizational structures and embrace contemporary social and employment trends. Teal Organizations are autonomous and seen as living entities with a focus on reaching their full potential.
Frederic Laloux determined that the Teal Management organizational paradigm rested on 3 fundamental pillars:
- Self-Management
- Evolutionary Purpose
- Wholeness
Leaders give heed to the knowledge of other, deeper aspects of themselves, fostering an ethic of shared trust and assumed prosperity.
Let's go a little further into the specifics of the 3 essential pillars.
Self-Management
Teal organizations are not hierarchical like Traditional Organizations. They use decentralization, which suggests order and direction. With a system based on peer interactions, even large-scale organizations are able to operate effectively.
It is typical for workers to have decision-making responsibilities, since employers have trust in their individual and collective knowledge. Structures and procedures are put in place so that workers have more autonomy in their respective domains and are responsible for collaborating with others.
Wholeness
Teal Organizations provide an environment where workers are free to express themselves entirely. Such an environment increases employee commitment, a sense of belonging, initiative, and creativity, therefore maximizing their potential.
Evolutionary Purpose
Teal Organizations are always changing and striving to advance. All workers engage in a process of introspection, exploration, and discovery in an effort to develop.
Even while none of the Teal Organizations analyzed have yet reached the size of Orange or Green Organizations, their performance indicates that a new era in Organizational Management is emerging.
Due to the inherent orientation towards power, each successive phase of organizational growth is more developed and effective than the previous one.
Teal Organizations offer 3 major benefits over other types of organizations:
- Human Factor
- Integrated View of Success
- Learning
According to research, there are just 2 basic requirements for an organization to become a Teal Organization:
- Executive Leadership
- Ownership
Interested in learning more about Teal Management, its primary advantages, and essential stipulations? You can download an editable PowerPoint presentation on Teal Management here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
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Organizational Design (AKA Organizational Re-design) involves the creation of roles, processes, and structures to ensure that the organization's goals can be realized. Organizational Design span across various levels of the organization. It includes:
- The overall organizational "architecture" (e.g. decentralized vs. centralized model).
- The design of business areas and business units within a larger organization.
- The design of departments and other sub-units within a business unit.
- The design of individual roles.
In the current Digital Age, there is an accelerating pace of strategic change driven by the disruption of industries. As a result, to remain competitive, Organizational Design efforts are becoming more frequent and pervasive—with the majority of organizations having experienced redesign within the past 3 years. This has only been exacerbated by COVID-19.
Frustratingly, only less than a quarter of these Organizational Design efforts are successful. Most organizations lack the best practice know-how to guide them through these Transformations effectively.
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