2015- Integral Coaching and Teal Management
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This document describes the link between Integral Coaching(r) and Teal Management. "Teal" refers to organizations with a certain level of consciousness as described by the book "Reinventing Organizations" by Frederick Laloux.
2015- Integral Coaching and Teal Management
- 1. 1 Integral Coaching and Teal management By Anamaria Aristizabal November 2015 Last month, I was invited to teach a CTE in a fast grown global food company in Spain. The assignment was particularly exciting when I heard their motivation: they want to become a Teal organization, and they think Integral Coaching? is the way to go. In this blog post I unpack why I think this is significant for our Integral Coaching? community. A year ago, from three different people, I got the message that I MUST read “Reinventing Organizations” by Frederick Laloux. Since I read the book, I keep hearing of individuals and study groups in many parts of the world (US, Latin America, and Europe) investigating the topic of Teal organizations, and the frameworks proposed by the book. Frederick has become a frequent speaker at prestigious management conferences like MixMashUp. The book is fascinating to read. It provides a developmental framework based on spiral dynamics, from the work of Ken Wilber, to analyze the level of consciousness of organizations. Each level is depicted by a color and the descriptions are evocative and helpful, I have found it to be a good diagnostic tool. The most advanced level known is Teal, and that’s where the future of management is headed, according to Laloux. Their leaders are described as follows1: They are mindful, taming the needs and impulses of their ego. They are suspicious of their own desires — to control their environment, to be successful, to look good, or even to accomplish good works. Rejecting fear, they listen to the wisdom of other, deeper parts of themselves. They develop an ethic of mutual trust and assumed abundance. They ground their decision making in an inner measure of integrity. I was surprised to hear that the leadership of the company in Spain had made a connection between Teal and Integral Coaching?. After giving it some thought it made perfect sense. Their main tenets are equivalent: Teal - 3 main pillars Integral coaching? outcomes ? Self management ? Wholeness ? Evolutionary purpose ? Self correction ? Self generation ? Long term excellence Self-management is achieved by the capacity for self correction and self-generation, that helps us become mindful of our reactions and develop the capacity to constantly self observe, to refine our instincts and respond more effectively to situations. Wholeness is another term for “integral”. Our approach is not to leave anything out and to work with the whole human being. Evolutionary purpose, as defined by Laloux, is based on responding to what the world is asking of us. This is aligned with our approach as well as with the developmental invitation we offer our students and clients towards vocation. This compatibility opens many possibilities for our coaching community. First, I invite you to join me in getting wildly enthusiastic about this trend. Companies becoming Teal means they are more humane, socially just, and environmentally sustainable. In other words, they truly respond to what the 1 The future of management is Teal, by Frederick Laloux, http://www.strategy- business.com/article/00344?gko=10921
- 2. 2 world is asking of them. This is good news for humanity. You can start by reading the book and joining the conversation about Teal. Second, there will be many opportunities for our work and approach. I have heard of many integral coaches who work inside companies and corporations who have to adapt to the culture and refrain from fully using the whole of our methodology. In Teal organizations our models, sources, and integral response is welcome. We don’t have to dread doing that corporate work to subsidize the juicy integral work with individuals. We can have the cake and eat it too. Third, I see a need to come up with sources, exercises, case studies, and additional curricula to further encourage this trend. During the CTE I showed a 20-minute short film called “The Butterfly Circus” (available on Youtube). I did not anticipate it would provide a bridge between Integral Coaching? and Teal. The main character of the clip, Will, (who we can call the “client”) moves from one circus to another, of radically different culture. The second culture, from our analysis, is Teal. Another character, Mendez, we could say plays the role of Integral Coach?. He names Will’s current and new narrative, and promotes a set of collective practices that are fundamental to Will’s development and adaptation to the Teal culture of the new circus. With this clip, the connection between Integral Coaching? and Teal landed for the participants in the CTE in Spain. I am eager to discover other sources, as well as collaborately develop curricula and case studies to further illustrate this connection and encourage more and more companies to take part in this exciting trend. To end, I would like to share some insights and questions from the CTE in Spain, that merit further investigation: ? Laloux suggests in his book that it is essential that the CEO and board of the organization is at the level of Teal, which we could say in the 10 ways is conversations or power. In this case the CEO is probably in power, but the board is not there yet. This is a source of challenge. ? I found that the CEO cannot coerce others to self-develop. They must be invited to, and that takes a series of strategic steps to open the door for this new conversation at the company and new types of relationships. ? Early adopters in the organization, who start to work on themselves with an Integral Coach? and show signs of development are important champions and catalysts for the conversion process to Teal and can be empowered in different ways. What strategies work? ? Inside the companies there will a variety of people in different developmental levels, and for some of them, the prospect of opening up in an integral way is intimidating. How to custom the messages of the CTE for them? What other offerings different from the CTE could bring them on board at their pace? ? It is powerful to give examples of other companies that have made the switch to Teal using Integral Coaching?. I have sent the group some articles produced by the South African Center for Coaching. Additional examples exist? If you find this topic appealing, please email me to start a study group! I look forward to where this inquiry leads us. Anamaria Aristizabal Anamaria@aristizabal.net