Breathing exercises
What beliefs do you have?
At a Teal around the world event earlier this month´ I took part in a session entitled “The inner journey” featuring Joachim Stempfle. Among interesting topics of the session were beliefs.
In the days after the session the conversations we had in the session about beliefs – including limiting beliefs / negative beliefs / beliefs that create negative energy as well as supporting beliefs / positive beliefs / beliefs that creative positive energy – stayed in my mind. Doing some research about beliefs this is what I discovered:
Costs per human genome have reduced significantly
During an AWS innovate online event today I heard Michael Mueller mention that in the last 20 years, costs per human genome have reduced significantly. 10s of millions whole genomes will be sequenced and stores in the next five years. A deeper understanding of biology has the potential to transform how we treat disease – but the scale and complexity of this data can create challenges.
Bringing the body to work when managing emotions
In a practical and useful #TATW2023 session facilitated by Anna Kopacz I learned more about bringing my body to work in managing emotions such as fear, anger, sadness or joy.
Anna started out sharing a story about climate change. The story was very real as New Zealand, from which Anna was moderating the session, had experienced – not long ago – one of the most aggressive cyclones in many years.
Anna Kopacz followed up on her story by playing various pieces of music. At each piece of music, she moved around and shared a few instructions as well as a few questions with participants. At music piece # 1 Anna asked participants to stand up and move their bodies freely around while focusing on the emotion fear. I moved around to the rhythms of the music in the room from which I participated. And I noticed that another participant was moving around in the middle of beautiful nature at Waiheke Island in New Zealand. Hearing the music, moving around and observing this beautiful nature made the experience truly unique.
During the body moving exercise Anna Kopacz asked this question: Where in your body do you feel fear? And then she encouraged us to let fear move through our bodies. This was an amazing experience, and doing it I sensed that emotions come and go, and that moving my body can help make this flow more smooth. Anna followed up with the question, “What is fear trying to tell you?
Using 4 additional pieces of music and focusing on the emotions anger, sadness, joy and compassion, Anna repeated the process mentioned above. In dealing with the emotion joy, she also asked, ” When do you feel joy?”
Finishing off the exercise moving around to music and sensing the emotion joy was beautiful. I felt like I became a little lighter, and that I could let go of some tensions I had in my body, mind and heart as well as think positively and feel hopeful.
Thank you for this great experience. I sensed it somehow made me feel more whole, more human as well as more connected with myself, with others and with nature.
Learning to meditate
During a useful meditation session at #TATW2023 I learned that it is important, when we #breathe, to focus on the breath. Also, when breathing, it can be helpful to bring attention to different part of the body such as your stomach, your back, your feet and/or your nose. When you breathe out, relax.
When you breathe it may occur that you start #thinking about various issues from your life. Accept that. It is normal. When you realize that your thoughts are moving to something other than your breath, receive whatever comes up in your mind with non-judgmental awareness. Then bring your focus back to your breath.
When you feel an emotion come up, try to put a name on that emotion. For example, if you feel anger, label that emotion “anger”.
Also, ask yourself where in your body that you feel the emotion you feel. For example, if you feel anger, ask yourself in which parts of your body you feel anger. Do you feel anger in your stomach? Do you feel anger in your face? Keep the emotion at a distance from yourself. As you breathe normally, sense the emotion come and go. That is what #emotions do: They come and go.
An open space technology was used to facilitate the #meditation session.
Learning from Kevin Nolan, GE Appliances
Listening to this really great conversation between Kevin Nolan, Michele Zanini and Gary Hamel, these are my top 4 takeaways:
“A company puts bureaucracy on top of things. All kinds of different approvals. The judge is typically the CEO. Or the judge is the finance manager. We have taken that away. That is not a reorganization. That is a culture change. This is a mindset change we had to make.
We are calling this organization an organic organization. We want something that is natural. The [other types of organizational models] are not natural. They are constructs of how to get efficiency. They are constructs of how a company is going to run. They are not constructs of how we are going to satisfy a customer.”
I heard Kevin Nolan say that he spends time with the small ones, the ones who are just starting out.
I heard Kevin Nolan say this: “We [the senior managers] are the ones who need to be retrained. We have to keep learning and changing.”
I heard Kevin Nolan say this: “My basic theme is “There is a better way.””
Additional research about Haier and RenDanHeYi:
How tolerant are religions towards other religions?
I was curious to learn about how tolerant religions are towards other religions and asked ChatGPT about it. This is the response I received from the AI system:
“The level of tolerance that religions have towards other religions can vary widely depending on various factors such as their history, teachings, cultural and geographical context, and current leadership.
Some religions promote a high level of tolerance towards other faiths and encourage peaceful coexistence, while others have been historically known for intolerance and even violence towards those who do not share their beliefs. Some religions view themselves as the one true faith and may be less accepting of other religions, while others have a more inclusive and pluralistic view.
For example, some Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism tend to have a more tolerant approach towards other faiths, as they emphasize the interconnectedness of all things and encourage peaceful coexistence. In contrast, some Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam have a more exclusive approach and historically have been known for conflicts and intolerance towards other religions.
Overall, it is important to note that while religions may have varying levels of tolerance towards other religions, it ultimately depends on the individual followers and their interpretation of the teachings. Therefore, it is important to avoid making broad generalizations about the level of tolerance of any particular religion towards others.”
How can a manager start the transition towards TEAL
Asking ChatGPT how a manager can start the transition towards TEAL, these are 4 of the responses that came back from the AI machine:
Involve the team
The transition to a TEAL model requires buy-in and support from your team. Start by involving them in the conversation, sharing your research, and asking for their input and ideas.
Create a culture of trust
A TEAL organization is built on trust and transparency. Begin by creating a culture of trust within your team, encouraging open communication and honesty.
Empower your team
To shift towards a self-management model, you need to empower your team to make decisions and take ownership of their work. Start by delegating more responsibilities and allowing your team to have a say in how things are done.
Experiment and iterate
The transition to a TEAL model is an ongoing process, and it requires experimentation and iteration. Start by testing small changes and see how they work. Be open to feedback and make adjustments as needed.
Teal in practice
Watching this 8 minute video about TEAL in practice, I learned that different colors can be used as metaphors to explain, for example, purpose and how people work.
The red door
The red door defines potential as survival of the fittest. Power is exercised constantly by chiefs who keep foot soldiers in line. Fear and unpredictability hold the organization together. Red environments tend to be highly reactive with short term focus.
The amber door
The amber door believes that the shortcut to security is predictability. Being dependable, consistent and reliable is rewarded.
The orange door
The orange door defines potential as limitless. It is the birthplace of individualism, meritocracy, and entrepreneurship. The mindset here is “always on” and work from anywhere. It is a technology enabled and results based approach, which aims to create freedom. Burnout lives here as well.
The green door
The green door defines potential as whatever makes you happy. Think of it as an internal retreat, where the answer to all life’s questions is love. This is the birthplace of teambuilding, happy workplaces, empowerment, transcending individuality and being in community. It is also where the equality debate, sustainability movements, global goals and universal income resides.
The teal door
The teal door defines potential as evolutionary. It starts with 3 pillars:
1. Wholeness: People can truly be themselves at work, focus on their contributions and growth.
2. Evolutionary purpose: Energy is unlocked when personal and organizational purposes are aligned.
3. Self-management: Pyramids are replaced by self-managing teams, making everyone more powerful.
Inspiration to create 