Why attitude in management process’s changes? What kind of job the new generation is looking for and what is important for them? Karolina Hudowicz answers these questions. Tell us about levels of consciousness and teal rEvolution. Karolina Hudowicz is a propagator new methods in management, International Coach Federation Poland BOD Member. Co-author of program Holilider – Future Organization Integral Leader, teal postgraduate studies in Academia WSB in Dąbrowa Górnicza, and courses in Poznan and Warsaw.
Where the teal management comes from?
To understand the theory of teal management we are to look at XXI century widely. In this period of time the whole world changes extremely dynamic. You can clearly see it for example when considering technological branches. Day by day the new equipment, new software or improvements appear. Quality of life rises in geometrical progress. The same is in management. Nowadays we have an employee’s job market. New generation is the step up job market. Young people want to make they dreams come true, want to work in a pleasant, good atmosphere. Times when people were comming to work just to do the job and fulfill boss orders are past. Teal management means management from different level of consciousness – in organization all processes are in multilevel dimension, all is aware and everybody agrees on it. It’s not that companies want to change something its the question of adaptation to new world. It’s created by generation, high level of digitalization, everything changes and the benchmark doesn’t exist. To meet the needs we need to present different attitude. Teal management theory has its basis Spiral Dynamics, which describes level of consciousness, giving them colours. Frederic Laloux in his book “Reinventing Organizations” also describes in colours levels of consciousness regarding
companies.
Should managers have to give up power?
We want to feel needed, we want to create one organizm, to self – realize at the same time on the personal and team level … Is this the manifesto of the young generation of employees? Everything indicates that yes. For this to happen, the management at all levels must create an open communication system, trust the employee’s competences, allow him to realize himself. In other words, managers have to give up authority and put themselves more in the role of a mentor, a person setting directions, focus on building trust and a sense of belonging to one team.
In teal management, communication and consciousness are the most important. We will not build a teal organization with people whose values do not correlate with values such as openness to development, open honest communication, authenticity and trust. Unfortunately, this is very difficult. Managers are afraid to give up power and knowledge. They are accustomed to the old rules of continuous supervision and limited trust. Here you need trust in the competencies and potential of a person in the organization.
Are there any companies in Poland that apply the rules of turquoise management?
In Poland, there are practically no companies that fully use teal management. There are many organizations that are on the way to teal. In addition, teal is not a goal in itself, it is a constant path. One of the well-known companies applying this modern form of management is the Marco company from Gliwice, which was the first in Poland to be called a teal company – a dream company and was described in the book by prof. Blikle – Turquoise Quality Doctrine. Today, they can boast of introducing a unique atmosphere, reducing working time, eating healthy meals together and what is a „side effect” – constantly improving financial results. But this is obviously not the only company in Poland with a different approach to management.
International corporations also see the need for change. Decathlon introduced the Omnichannel Sport Leader project, which works perfectly in many stores in Poland. The
branches covered by the program form a team that meets the brand’s goals without hierarchy. The entire team cooperates and is responsible for the entire results. The approach of our domestic entities is beginning to change.
What do you need to do to become teal?
Teal is the way, work, improvement, and continuous building of consciousness. To be able 
to transform an organization into such an entity, everyone must want to be involved and ready. Of course, a lot depends on the leaders, because they first have to want to give up power and supervision. People must have a level of consciousness that will allow them to feel and know what responsibility and trust are. Everyone should know their potential and be able to communicate openly, be independent and be able to make decisions and take responsibility for them. We will not build a teal organization that will run out. Openness and readiness for such a model of cooperation are needed. So when we have the right people in the team, we can make changes. Fortunately, there are many tools that will help in transformation. First of all you have to be in a team and with a team. Banal, but extremely important. Everyone in the company is clearly talking about problems and we are looking for solutions. – I work with many organizations that introduce teal management, or rather implement changes leading to transformation into organizations of the future. It s a difficult process, requiring training, workshops and tools, and working mainly on yourself. However, consciousness is the most important – says Karolina Hudowicz.
Can everyone be teal?
Professor Blikle is the author of the statement „We will all be teal anyways”. Indeed, this innovative theory of storm management is entering the canon. There is still a long way to go, but the world is changing dynamically. We observe many companies that are orange, that is, they are constantly guided by traditional methods in management, but they have in their structures the so-called „teal islands”, that is groups, project teams that operate in a completely different – innovative way. Over time, such companies will notice that they must change, because the situation requires it. I see a huge interest in consulting and services related to the transformation of the organization which I have the pleasure to provide.
There are a lot of green companies in Poland, that is, those that have a very democratic approach and openness on the employee, and that is very good and hopefully that there will be more of them. I also see that these companies want to go further, make changes based on a higher level of communication, consciousness and trust. They want to build teams that work differently.
Is this the end of management history?
In teal the idea is to develop all the time, move forward. We, as employees, members of the organization, create a place where we are. Our needs are changing, the world is changing and the approach to management changes. This is definitely not the end, organizations are created by people and they change. Humanity is evolving. Our level of consciousness is evolving.
Karolina Hudowicz – She graduated in English philology, psychology and post-graduate studies in coaching, training and human resource management. Currently, she is writing her first doctoral dissertation on teal management in Poland. Fascinated with working with people, she gave up her long-term career in a corporation and started her own business. Currently, she is a member of a ten people team. She provides workshops, trainings and transforms companies at the level of management processes. She cares about the professional image of coaching in our country. Privately, she likes sports and reads books written by Harlan Coben.
