Educational articles

Rasa Baltė Balčiūnienė
Founder of HAI Institute, author of leadership programmes

In Lithuania, there are already a number of organisations that operate on the principles of Lively Systems. Such organisations are inspired by natural processes and are called Lively Organisations. Like nature, they are self-regulating and in a constant process of renewal. At the heart of a lively organisation is the human being and the logic of life (survive, thrive, expand and evolve).

Compare: traditional organisations are inspired by the Industrial Revolution and based on "machine" logic. They are characterised by control, command and linear activities. These organisations worked well during the industrialisation period, but increasing uncertainty and a future that is difficult to predict are increasingly forcing us to look to nature and its processes. Nature is a well-ordered system that is resilient to all kinds of adversity.

So, in my conversations with business developers and living systems researchers, I have identified the essential features of living organisations:

- A higher sense of purpose (not just financial gain);
- people acting independently and responsibly (flat structure);
- a viable medium that allows new things to emerge (regeneration);
- the ability to grow and mature the people of the organisation.

Higher purpose

Rinard Goda, an entrepreneur-practitioner and HAI alumnus who is implementing lively systems principles in his company, says that a lively organisation understands its evolutionary purpose - what it was created to do, what it serves, and what the world needs it for. It is a higher purpose than money.

I observe that many organisations today are going through a crisis of meaning (purpose). One of the reasons for this is probably that we operate in a world of confused concepts. Eglė Daunienė, an adaptive leadership expert and HAI alumna, pointed out that one of the fallacies is to think that company goals and indicators are directly related. According to her, indicators are only needed as a sign that we can look at and say: if turnover is growing, we must be hitting the mark, we must be able to create the kind of value that is attractive to the client.

The objectives of living organisations are a kind of benchmark. That vector can be outwards, i.e. what good things we want to create for the larger system, or inwards, to create a different organisational culture. I assume that in the long term a new direction of competitive advantage for organisations will emerge: how to uncover, through their value creation, what is needed for life, for a better quality of human life - not only physiologically but also psychologically.

People who act independently and responsibly

Lively Systems Organisations are characterised by a culture of openness and a strong field of mutual trust. Employees feel they are themselves, they don't need any masks. Daiva Viskontienė, an HAI alumna, observes that such employees have found their axis, act without delay, do not sabotage their actions, know their emotional side and have the empathy to build a quality relationship with a colleague or a client.

In lively organisations, people make their own decisions. There is no micro-management, no boss-subordinate relationship - it is a collaborative process. Ieva Čepononė, who studies organisational transformation methods, says that the intention of the manager/owner is crucial and decisive. Before introducing lively systems principles into a company, a manager must honestly ask himself if he is really ready to be completely open. If so, then the journey can begin.

Of course, there are always two sides to this process: the organisation creates the conditions for self-regulation, but the employee must be willing to take advantage of these conditions. Only by acting autonomously and responsibly can a person achieve high performance.

A vibrant environment for new things to emerge

A lively organisation, like nature, is dynamic and unchanging. Nature is in a constant cycle of renewal: some plants grow and others wither. A living organisation is also a medium in which some things "thrive" and others simply wither away. This does not mean that we build one day, tear it down the next, and build it up again. Daiva Viskontienė, an HAI alumna, says that the process of rebuilding is gradual and invisible to the naked eye every day. It happens naturally, by reflecting on how the organisation works and whether it creates value. Eglė Daunienė, an expert in adaptive leadership, stresses that such reflection requires maturity and strategic thinking. After all, a person also improves when he or she starts to understand his or her own mistakes in thinking and internal stereotypes. He or she can notice them and change. Sometimes giving up certain habits may seem painful, but it is necessary for evolution. For a lively organisation, it is a natural process.

The ability to nurture and mature the people of the organisation 

We spend a large part of our time at work. It's where we learn how to work in teams, communicate with customers, develop our professional skills, create new products and services, and deliver results. In lively organisations, this process is done with intention, i.e. it's about deliberately creating an environment where employees can know themselves, realise their potential, create and not be afraid to make mistakes. Lina Šleinotaitė-Kalė, Lively Systems Facilitator, emphasises that one of the essential characteristics of a living system is to nurture other lively systems. She notes that when we change ourselves, our environment changes too, because everything is connected down to the atomic level. And if even one person in a team starts to change, the other members of staff react to the change too - a chain reaction.

I believe that the real purpose of lively organisations is to grow people: to strengthen their inner maturity, to develop their competences. Their culture can therefore be described as a kind of school for developing personalities. Who knows, maybe in the future people will come here not only to work and earn money, but also to learn to grow up.