Organizations where people matter and people thrive

 

Within "living organizations" …

• The mission is expanded to create a "double bottom line." Not only do we care about fulfilling our purpose, we also care about how we do it, especially our impact on the lives of all constituents of the organization (e.g. people employed, customers, vendors, shareholders, debt holders, local communities, global communities, the environment). It's "both/and" not "either/or."

• The human needs of each constituent involved with or touched by the organization are recognized and valued. Some examples of these core human needs are:
  
  
  • Autonomy: to honor each person's need to make free choices without coercion
  • Empathy: the need of each person to be heard, to be understood; to have what matters most to oneself be seen & valued
  • Authenticity: the need to live in alignment with one's values; the need to be valued for who one is
  • Inclusion: the need to be included in decisions that affect us
  • Transparency: the need to have clarity of the intentions, decisions and actions of others
  • Mutuality: the need to be valued equally as human beings; the need to trust that policies apply to everyone
  • Solidarity: the need to work toward something meaningful with others who share the same mission
  • Interdependence: the need to recognize our interdependence on one another while at the same time recognizing that we are each responsible for ourselves, especially our own intentions, choices, feelings, needs & actions

• Mutual understanding of human needs is the basis of interaction among people. Moralistic judgments, labels, criticisms, demands, etc. are transformed into a mutual understanding of the underlying needs.
• Leaders motivate intrinsically through mutual understanding and inspiration … "power-with" rather than "power-over." Each of us are potential leaders at any moment, dependent on our experience, our roles and the opportunities that arise—and the structure of the organization nourishes such dynamic leader roles.
• The power of the organization lies in interlinked circles of people. These circles are semi-autonomous, self-governing & self-optimizing. Decisions within these circles are inclusive of every member and are based on consent. Every person and every level of the organization is empowered by being included in the decisions that affect it. No person has power over another person (unless that power has been given by consent … and can be rescinded by consent).
• Fulfillment of the primary aim is still paramount. Within the life-serving organization, new strategies and processes are available that leverage the intrinsic capabilities of empowered people (creativity, feedback, leadership, engagement, trust …) and enhance the quality and effectiveness in fulfilling the primary aim.
• The organization owns itself so that it is a "free organization" whose governance and fate are determined by the consent of the people included within it.