This document describes the link between Integral Coaching(r) and Teal Management. "Teal" refers to organizations with a certain level of consciousness as described by the book "Reinventing Organizations" by Frederick Laloux.

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Integral Coaching and Teal management
By Anamaria Aristizabal
November 2015
Last month, I was invited to teach a CTE in a fast grown global food company in Spain. The assignment
was particularly exciting when I heard their motivation: they want to become a Teal organization, and
they think Integral Coaching® is the way to go. In this blog post I unpack why I think this is significant
for our Integral Coaching® community.
A year ago, from three different people, I got the message that I MUST read “Reinventing
Organizations” by Frederick Laloux. Since I read the book, I keep hearing of individuals and study
groups in many parts of the world (US, Latin America, and Europe) investigating the topic of Teal
organizations, and the frameworks proposed by the book. Frederick has become a frequent speaker at
prestigious management conferences like MixMashUp.
The book is fascinating to read. It provides a developmental framework based on spiral dynamics,
from the work of Ken Wilber, to analyze the level of consciousness of organizations. Each level is
depicted by a color and the descriptions are evocative and helpful, I have found it to be a good
diagnostic tool. The most advanced level known is Teal, and that’s where the future of management is
headed, according to Laloux. Their leaders are described as follows1:
They are mindful, taming the needs and impulses of their ego. They are suspicious of their own
desires — to control their environment, to be successful, to look good, or even to accomplish good
works. Rejecting fear, they listen to the wisdom of other, deeper parts of themselves. They develop
an ethic of mutual trust and assumed abundance. They ground their decision making in an inner
measure of integrity.
I was surprised to hear that the leadership of the company in Spain had made a connection between
Teal and Integral Coaching®. After giving it some thought it made perfect sense. Their main tenets are
equivalent:
Teal - 3 main pillars Integral coaching® outcomes
• Self management
• Wholeness
• Evolutionary purpose
• Self correction
• Self generation
• Long term excellence
Self-management is achieved by the capacity for self correction and self-generation, that helps us
become mindful of our reactions and develop the capacity to constantly self observe, to refine our
instincts and respond more effectively to situations.
Wholeness is another term for “integral”. Our approach is not to leave anything out and to work with
the whole human being.
Evolutionary purpose, as defined by Laloux, is based on responding to what the world is asking of us.
This is aligned with our approach as well as with the developmental invitation we offer our students
and clients towards vocation.
This compatibility opens many possibilities for our coaching community. First, I invite you to join me
in getting wildly enthusiastic about this trend. Companies becoming Teal means they are more
humane, socially just, and environmentally sustainable. In other words, they truly respond to what the
1 The future of management is Teal, by Frederick Laloux, http://www.strategy-
business.com/article/00344?gko=10921

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world is asking of them. This is good news for humanity. You can start by reading the book and joining
the conversation about Teal.
Second, there will be many opportunities for our work and approach. I have heard of many integral
coaches who work inside companies and corporations who have to adapt to the culture and refrain
from fully using the whole of our methodology. In Teal organizations our models, sources, and integral
response is welcome. We don’t have to dread doing that corporate work to subsidize the juicy integral
work with individuals. We can have the cake and eat it too.
Third, I see a need to come up with sources, exercises, case studies, and additional curricula to further
encourage this trend. During the CTE I showed a 20-minute short film called “The Butterfly Circus”
(available on Youtube). I did not anticipate it would provide a bridge between Integral Coaching® and
Teal. The main character of the clip, Will, (who we can call the “client”) moves from one circus to
another, of radically different culture. The second culture, from our analysis, is Teal. Another
character, Mendez, we could say plays the role of Integral Coach®. He names Will’s current and new
narrative, and promotes a set of collective practices that are fundamental to Will’s development and
adaptation to the Teal culture of the new circus. With this clip, the connection between Integral
Coaching® and Teal landed for the participants in the CTE in Spain. I am eager to discover other
sources, as well as collaborately develop curricula and case studies to further illustrate this
connection and encourage more and more companies to take part in this exciting trend.
To end, I would like to share some insights and questions from the CTE in Spain, that merit further
investigation:
• Laloux suggests in his book that it is essential that the CEO and board of the organization is at
the level of Teal, which we could say in the 10 ways is conversations or power. In this case the
CEO is probably in power, but the board is not there yet. This is a source of challenge.
• I found that the CEO cannot coerce others to self-develop. They must be invited to, and that
takes a series of strategic steps to open the door for this new conversation at the company and
new types of relationships.
• Early adopters in the organization, who start to work on themselves with an Integral Coach®
and show signs of development are important champions and catalysts for the conversion
process to Teal and can be empowered in different ways. What strategies work?
• Inside the companies there will a variety of people in different developmental levels, and for
some of them, the prospect of opening up in an integral way is intimidating. How to custom the
messages of the CTE for them? What other offerings different from the CTE could bring them
on board at their pace?
• It is powerful to give examples of other companies that have made the switch to Teal using
Integral Coaching®. I have sent the group some articles produced by the South African Center
for Coaching. Additional examples exist?
If you find this topic appealing, please email me to start a study group! I look forward to where this
inquiry leads us.
Anamaria Aristizabal
Anamaria@aristizabal.net