A List of Teal Organisations

Introduction to Teal (Self-Management)

The term teal was coined by Frederic Laloux in his 2014 book Reinventing Organisations, required reading for everyone here at We-Q!

If you’ve come to this page, your probably know about the book, and what teal means.

If not – first look at the simple graphic below.

Even though it might seem crazy, and feel so unknown to us, we are potentially on the cusp of a new breakthrough in human collaborative hierarchy.

Each of the key breakthroughs should be present in a teal organisation, that is they should be

1. Self managing (as far as is practical or doable)
2. An emphasis on wholeness (being fully one’s self)
3. An emphasis on evolutionary purpose within the organisation

To show you real examples of teal organisations, take a look at the list below.

Global Teal Organisations

• Sun Hydraulics – USA, UK, Germany, South Korea, China, India – manufacturer of valves and hydraulic manifolds (which regulate fluid flow between pumps and actuators in a hydraulic system)

Teal Organisations in the UK

• We-Q – UK – A team diagnostic survey tool that facilitates transformational conversations in the direction of the key teal breakthroughs. Self management, wholeness and evolutionary purpose.
• The John Lewis Partnership – Entirely worker-owned democratic organisation in the UK employing ~90,000 people. They consider themselves an ‘experiment in industrial democracy’

Teal Organisations in Europe

• Buurtzorg – Netherlands – High-quality, relatively low-cost home nursing care – Read more about the Buurtzorg model
• Evangelischen Schule Berlin – Germany
• Heiligenfeld – Germany – A mental health hospital
• Favi – France – a brass foundry within the car industry

Teal Organisations in the USA

• Morning Star – California – Tomato ingredient processor – Read more about the Morning Star model
• Patagonia – California – Manufacturer of climbing gear and outdoor apparel
• Resources for Human Development (RHD) – 14 US States – A not for profit social services agency – Read more about the RHD model
• New Era Windows & Doors – Featured in the Michael Moore documentary Capitalism: A love story these workers were put out without their pensions or severance pay. They organised a sit-in and found another way to organise, by buying and running the company themselves.
• Isthmus Engineering & Manufacturing – a worker-owned cooperative specializing in custom automation solutions and equipment.
• Union Cab Cooperative – Union Cab operates the largest taxi fleet in Madison, WI

How does being a Teal organisation help a company?

Clients of these organisations can feel a difference in the way they deal with teal organisations. Recipients of the services provided by Buurtzorg’s neighbourhood nurses definitely feel the humanity in all the face-to-face interactions. They’re not a number or a statistic pushed for head offices’s productivity figures. They’re people, and they’re treated as such.

As for a ‘teal’ utility company, you’re likely not going to know that they’re self managing, whole, developing and adapting with a sense of evolutionary purpose. That’s because you just receive electricity through your outlets, rather than dealing with them frequently and personally. That being said, the staff will find their work more meaningful and satisfying, which should result in greater levels of service and going the extra mile for their customers.

Do some companies revert from Teal back to hierarchical models?

Yes, sadly.

An organisation which appoints a new CEO may move back a step in the way they’re organised, and they move to a ‘Green’ or ‘Orange’ means of hierarchy (see the graphic at the top of this page).