3rd blog of the series
The previous blog covered the 1st breakthrough of TEAL Management, which is Self-organization. This blog will cover the 2nd breakthrough - Wholeness.
When researching TEAL organization Laloux came across something different when it comes to how we experience people at work. We are whole people, we are not just the part of us that shows up to work as a professional figure.
We are motivated by so many factors in our lives and it all comes into play in every space we take part of, including work and our community lives.
We have feelings and needs. We can feel happiness and satisfaction, but also fear, concern and disappointment. Our aspiration is to be able to talk about how we feel and what we need with phycological safety.
The TEAL Management paradigm offers us the opportunity to remove our masks, show our vulnerability and be connected with our true selves. This leads to personal and collective development.
This requires putting effort and resources into practicing wholeness and each organization does it differently - mediation practices. mindfulness, methods for inner work and dialog such as Non Violent Communication (NVC), space for reflection on various aspects of the work - like Council Circles, retreats, going out to nature, etc. Essentially by creating a space space for people to grow.
Self Organization has a lot to do with practicing Wholeness, since we work with the concept of working together as partners, not as employees and managers - self development and understanding what alive in me and what motivates me - is key to our success, connection and engagement.
Conflict resolution is also a key area to focus on. Where there are people there are gaps in opinions and strategies, which can lead to tensions and conflicts. Having the right tools (such as NVC) to manage the tensions and conflicts is required. Under TEAL, a tension is considered an opportunity for learning and growth :)
Wholeness is also about how we treat honest mistakes. Mistakes are part of working together, we all make them. We try and look at them as a learning experience and treat people with respects, even when a mistake happens.
For me, Wholeness brings forward our emotional and spiritual aspects into being within the management paradigm. This is exciting and feels, well... more whole :)
In this video, Lalaux explains the concept of Wholeness and asks leaders to answer the following questions for themselves:
do you remember a moment(s) when you felt like you can really be yourselves? That you didn't worry about other people's judgement about you? That you weren't afraid to show parts of yourself?
What do you desire? What would you see happening in your organization so that wholeness can be reached?
What would you make disappear from your organization? Things that prevent people from fully showing up?
Where do you feel safe and whole today? Where do you see others feeling whole?
Are there parts of you that you don't let others see today? what needs to happen for you to feel safe to show them?
What fears or concerns delay you from being your whole self and what can you do te address these fears?
The idea, as you've already guessed is to include our humanity in our work. The next blog will cover the 3rd breakthrough- evolutionary purpose.