Back in January, I started working in an internal strategy function at Boston Consulting Group’s Digital Ventures. Due to the nature of my role, I was exposed to a vast array of leadership and management styles, most specifically Director, VP and Partner level. Having studied management in both my bachelor and master degree, I found it of great interest to see the way in which management was set up and run in different environments and I learned a lot about people, management and leadership in that environment. And in a way, it is why I sit here and write this blog today.
Management has seen a great deal of change over the years and has been forced to evolve with its times. I found it educational to contemplate how management has evolved over the years and consider which direction it is moving towards in the years to come. While I won’t be sharing any of the direct experiences I had in BCG’s environment, as this post isn’t affiliated with or sponsored by BCG, working in that environment has inspired me to learn more about the future of management and dive into research. And that is what I will share today.
In this post, we will explore the evolution of management to shine a light on the different ways we’ve ‘done management’ in the past and the change that has come with it. Next time, we will learn about the future of management. And in the final post, we will investigate how we can spot this progression through communication patterns.
Part 1 – The Evolution of Management
The evolutionary stages of management have been referenced as colours by Frederic Laloux, who borrowed the colour scheme from Ken Wilber, a human consciousness philosopher. I think the colours make the management styles easy to remember so I will borrow them and their explanation from Frederic in this installment. They are numbered for a reason, as they are to represent shifts in time. You may find it an interesting practice to think of organisations that represent these styles while you read through the descriptions.
- Red – wolfpack
- Amber – army
- Orange – machine
- Green – family
- Teal – living organism
1. Red – Organisations as command and control
In this management style, there are two scenarios at play.
- You are more powerful than some people and have the authority to control their actions directly by issuing orders or indirectly by exercising political power.
- You are less powerful than some people and act as their submissive, showing homage to the more powerful as they in one way or another promise to take care of you, your team, or your career.
Each person’s immediate alternatives are so undesirable that people are obedient to a fault. You hear of ways that people are punished for not following directions and you do what’s needed to not be that person.
Like in the early days of European monarchies, red organisations have one ‘chief’ in charge who enforces order and no one says ‘no’ to them. Management is conducted ‘top down’, meaning that decisions are set at the top and then shared with all so that they can do one thing: follow. Fear is often the glue that holds these organisations together.
The chief is either greatly respected or greatly feared. Interestingly though, if the chief shows any sign of weakness or neglects his duty to take care of his submissives, others inevitably turn up, like a pack of wolves, circling in on the chief and looking for an opening to pounce, toppling the chief’s reign.
These environments are highly entrepreneurial and move quickly, like an arrow from a bow, but experience many growing pains as this management style does not scale well.
2. Amber– Organisations as hierarchies
In this management style, there is a clear hierarchy but unlike Red organisations there isn’t one chief who dominates decision making and who everyone watches for signs of weakness.
Amber organisations have seen highly volatile Red environments and are convinced that more certainty and stability is a better way to scale. Therefore, process and order are top priorities in these environments. Meaning that you and everyone around you knows what is expected of their role, form job description to dress code, and there is a definitive correct or incorrect way of behaving. If you have a task to perform, you can rest assured there will be a template available on how to do it.
Because processes are so engrained and stable, opportunities for creativity are usually low. Meaning there may be a tendency for you to wonder, “Does what I do even matter?” Of course it does! But because you are given one box to play within, you must do what is expected in order to fulfil your given job.
These environments are highly stable and move at a determined pace, so much so that people often fail to see the point of changing their behavior, attitudes or beliefs after staying in these environments for too long. However, these environments rarely see innovation from within. Thus, these environments should be able to benefit from working with change management consultants when something new is needed.
3. Orange – Organisations as machines
In this management style, objectives are set at the top just like in Red and Amber but there is more room for creativity because people are free to achieve their objectives in the way they think is best. Orange management doesn’t box people in like Amber, meritocracy matters here. If you are consistently coming up with the best ideas and overachieving your KPIs, then you should move up the organisational ladder quickly. However, these environments usually lead to fierce competition as everyone is in constant pursuit to be faster, smarter and more savvy than the co-worker next to them. People in this environment believe there is a fixed portion of pie for the taking, so they come up with unique ways to outshine or achieve. Managers in Orange organisations are very focused on controlling inputs, improving outputs, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks, and exceeding each milestone.
Orange is a game of “how badly do you want it?” Orange gave birth to high performance ‘work-hard, play-hard’ organisational cultures, attracting high achievers into their environments. The Orange management style is extremely competitive and results driven. However, it is also invariably soulless – which can be attested to by high burnout rates.
4. Green – Organisations as families
In this style, you’ve become unconvinced that profit maximisation is the driving goal. You seek to build harmonious relationships, ensure every voice is heard and collaborate with your peers. This management style usually attracts people who have seen the ramifications of relentless competition or who are inspired to make the world a little better through business.
Like a family, the organisation is set up to empower those who are learning and who will lead it in the future. The front-line employees (the children of the family) have top priority and the senior executives (the parents of the family) are servant leaders who aim to clear the way for employees as they grow and develop. Values guide the direction of the team and coaches come in only to guide or inspire in times of need.
These environments are inspirational and actually tend to outperform the more traditional command and control companies. However, green is sometimes criticized as being too soft or ‘hippy-like’.
5. Teal – Organisations as living organisms
In this style, you and everyone around you has the freedom to self-organise, choose which projects you’d live to add value to and make decisions. You have probably heard of the term ‘holocracy’, well holocracy is actually a branch of Teal. Work is done by individuals with different specialties who have talents or strengths in the field. When someone who is running a project doesn’t know what to do, they seek advice from expert co-workers and try their best to implement it according to that advice. Or, they willingly hand the project over to the expert. The focus is to move the organisation forward, in the way that they can serve it best.
Lengthy PPTs explaining every single detail aren’t necessary. Neither is asking for permission from your manager, since you are your own manager and you rely on intuition instead. Setbacks, failures or mistakes are not reprimanded with anger or shame but rather looked at as opportunities for feedback, so you can learn more about who you are and how you can be better next time.
Teal believes in Carol Dweck’s growth mindset.
As funny as it may sound, Teal is often compared wth a forest. For example, a flower isn’t expected to grow into a large tree to feed the forest with oxygen, a tiny flower has a different specialty which adds just as much value to the forest, but in a different way. And there is no Chief Forest Officer, one who calls formal meetings, hands out an agenda named Q4 Seasonality, and discusses how tomorrow they hibernate for X number of days and nights.
These environments enable people to grow into their best selves, make fast decisions with limited political planning, and follow intuition and flow rather than forecasting models to move the organisation forward. In a way, Teal is the way in which blockchain week was organised. You can read more about blockchain week in my post here.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we have explored the 5 evolutionary stages of management:
- Red = wolfpack
- Amber = army
- Orange = machine
- Green = family
- Teal = living organism
In the next article, we will explore why it is important to evolve with the times.
Aneta Kosinska is a Polish – Canadian, MSc + CEMS MIM alumni. With management consulting, analytics and startup/entrepreneurial experience, she aspires to contribute to the knowledge sharing economy.
Image: Pexels
References
CB Insights (2019). Personally Disrupted: 14 CEOs who got axed after failing to navigate disruption
Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing Organisations