Do organizations have colors? Frederic Laloux has a classification.

In Laloux's book "Reinventing Organizations" (2014) there is a core gradation of 5 colors:

- Red, "10,000 years ago", powerful chiefdoms | fear

- Amber, "1000 years ago", command & control | formal hierarchies | repetitions of the past

- Orange, "100 years ago", predict & control | effective matrix | innovation

- Green, "10 years ago", relationships above outcomes | stakeholder perspective | empowerment

- Teal, "1 year ago", self-management for evolutionary purpose | learning organization | living entity

For years I have been exploring different formats for interdisciplinary collaboration and the formation of collective intelligence as a "learning organism". Teal fragments are one of the building blocks of my "cherry picking of different impact formats" approach. This is also one of my main learnings after many experiments and pilots: don't just focus on one theory or method in modern forms of collaboration. This can become too monotonous and lead to a one-way street in terms of learning. Whether in communication, health marketing or behavior change and nudges in global industrial security - the Teal characteristic has always proven to be an effective component.

Speaking of which - a beautiful teal mixes as a print color with the CMYK system with 100% cyan, 0% magenta, 40 to 50% yellow and between 0 and 10% black. This blue-green spectrum has a lively, inviting character.

How did the press, organizational development circles and the business world in general receive the book?

2014 to 2015, initial perception: rapid traction around the innovative ideas of organizational structures | echo in business and leadership communities, numerous reviews, blogs and podcasts, perception as a potential implication for the future of work.

2016 to 2017, growing impact: thought leaders, consultants and practitioners in the field of organizational development incorporate the book's knowledge into ongoing discussions and writings | achieves the value of a reference point for those who want to tackle alternative explorations to traditional hierarchical structures.

As of 2018, global impact: book reaches a worldwide audience, is available in many languages | countless workshops, seminars and conferences are dedicated to teal organizations and self-management practices | the impact of the book transcends the pure business realm and reaches educators, community organizers, social entrepreneurs.

Crisp and short: the book's content challenges conventional wisdom in organizational design. Above all, the organizational form of Teal ignites a wave of inspiration for experiments and innovations in how structures and leadership can be combined in a different way.

Prepare for up to 5 organizational effects on your Teal journey:

1. Enhanced Employee Engagement: Team members make decisions independently within their areas of responsibility. This autonomy develops personal responsibility and accountability. The result is a higher level of commitment and motivation. Team members do their best work - they have the freedom to organize themselves and bring their passions to bear within the organization.
2. Improved Innovation & Adaptability: Teal stands for a living system - individuals and teams have the flexibility to respond to changes and challenges in real time. The heavily weighted self-management and distributed authority provides an essential Teal power - responding quickly to market changes, technological advances or other external factors. This adaptability fuels innovation and gives the organization the ability to stay ahead of the changing world.
3. Greater Organizational Resilience: Decentralization of decision-making and self-organization - Teal distributes leadership across the entire organization. This reduces dependencies on hierarchical authority and makes the system resilient. Decisions are made by those closest to the work. The result is increased resistance to disruption and flexibility in dealing with complex challenges.
4. Enhanced Employee Well-being: The focus is on the well-being of the team members or employees. Teal promotes authenticity and personal growth - with the principle of holism. This creates an environment in which each individual can bring their whole self to work without separating their personal and professional identity. The result is a sense of belonging, fulfillment and the indispensable building block of psychological security for team members.
5. Alignment with Purpose: Teal goes beyond profit and shareholder value. A deeper purpose and making a contribution to the world drives the team/organization. The purpose of the organization is aligned with the values and aspirations of the team members/employees. This creates a sense, a spirit of shared mission and impact. The collective perception of fulfillment among members ignites job satisfaction and organizational cohesion.

As an essence statement: Teal according to Laloux unleashes higher engagement, improved innovation and adaptability and greater resilience for the members and organization. The increase in wellbeing boosts goal alignment and allows sustainability and success to flourish in the organization.

6 activation steps for "going teal".

Example: A development team in the high-risk industry for a resilient and safe working environment with a focus on building collective intelligence.

1 Self-Management:

- Team members take on their roles and responsibilities in ensuring behavioral safety themselves.

- Team members make autonomous decisions regarding safety protocols, hazard identification and risk mitigation strategies.

2 Wholeness:

- Team members feel safe in the environment, bringing their whole selves to work. Their concerns, experiences and insights about safety have a place.

- Open and transparent communication channels allow for authentic expressions and vulnerabilities. This foundation of trust-building is genuinely lived.

3 Evolutionary Purpose:

- The purpose is clear and compelling to the team and goes beyond mere compliance with safety regulations. The purpose synchronizes member engagement with continuous innovation and improvement of safety practices.

- The team represents a living organism that evolves, adapts to new challenges and learns from past experiences. The efficiency of behavioral safety amplifies.

4 Decentralized Decision-Making:

- Decision-making powers are distributed across the entire team. Members can place their expertise and insights in safety-related initiatives and interventions.

- Mechanisms such as peer review or consensus-based decision-making are defined. Decisions are made collectively and reflect different perspectives.

5 Holacracy or Agile Practices: ?

- Test organizational structures with small validation experiments - holocracy (self-management in circles, not with the top-down pyramid) or agile methods. Then use promising approaches to increase adaptability and iterative effects.

- Explore rapid prototyping - use Scrum, Kanban or design sprints to manage security projects. Short feedback loops as a quick win radar.

6 Learning and Development:

- Agree a culture of continuous learning. Teams have opportunities for skill building, knowledge sharing and cross-functional training or in residence programs in the area of behavioral safety.

- Encourage a growth mindset within teams. Failures are learning opportunities. Celebrate successes as collective achievements.

There is no universal global recipe for stable daily safety for everyone involved in the high-risk industry.?With a mix of Teal, Design Thinking as a development method for different topics or interventions and learning methods such as Explorative Learning that help teams and organizations move forward differently and quickly.?

Of course, there are countless other mixtures depending on the individual needs of the makers. The constant creation of prototypes, small tests and adaptations allows collective intelligence to grow rapidly.

Teal - tackling the future together and experiencing a radical departure from traditional organizational models – creating a compelling vision for a more humane, adaptive, and purpose-driven approach to work. This commitment is as old as mankind. That will not work without courage, commitment and patience. The collective successes on this journey, however, always have the effect of rejuvenating us.

However – this is not another project with a starting and closing date – its a journey you begin ??