Can a Living Organisation Really Heal the World?

Someone walks in, drops their shoulders, and quietly admits they’re counting the hours until Friday. They talk about their job like it’s a chore, about coworkers as obstacles, about work as something to be endured. The tired eyes, the low voices, the endless waiting for a vacation that’s always a little too short.

But then, there’s a different scene: Someone leans in, you can see it in their face. They get lost in a small detail, a color, a question, a tough problem. They high-five a teammate, ask one more question, laugh out loud during a late-night sprint, fight for an idea because it might matter.

Since 2013, I’ve worked with leaders, business owners, private individuals – people willing to confront the tension between what is and what could be. People who are searching for who they are, why they’re here, and how to lead their lives and businesses purposefully.

I’ve had the chance to work with people who are deeply passionate about making an impact in their organizations. They’re surrounded by team members who give their all every day. And yet, even with all that drive, finding a way to realize their full potential is somehow blocked.

Here’s the secret: Most people don’t dislike their work simply because it’s work. It’s the system, the structure, the sea of rules and small boxes that slowly leach the spark from their day.

First, we call this normal. Then, those people leave the organization.

In my Integral Improvisational Coaching Approach, I call this perspective “design structures and processes”. We need structure. But if we really want to thrive, we desperately need structures that can move, adjust, and breathe.

You’ve got mail – it’s been nine years since executive coach Guido Fiolka shared his first delicate draft of a fresh organizational design with some of us.

Living Organisation: A framework that sees the organization as a dynamic, organic system that can evolve by empowering every team member to take ownership and co-create through decentralized, purpose-driven structures.

Back then, it felt like I’ve just given my TEDx talk and those… elaborate conceptual explorations were tough for me to grasp. For this post, I went back to the email I had sent him as feedback. I had more questions than answers. It felt right but I struggled to express it in words.

Well, this took a u-turn!

I successfully completed the Living Organisation Master at Coaching Center Berlin – earning certification as a consultant for future-ready organizational development. And these days, I’m the one frantically typing up my reflections. Hence, this meme! 😉

My journey exploring decentralized leadership, collaborative frameworks, and the potential of working – I admit, a bit provocative – without a boss has opened my eyes to new ways of building organizations.

You’re right, this living approach will not "heal the world”, sadly. But it can crack something open and invite creativity, collaboration, and innovation to sit at the center.

Whether you’re building a start-up, working within your small business, or navigating the waters at the corporate level – everyone gets the same invitation.

This framework is not for those who shrug and say, this premise is utopia. It’s for those who look around and sense – quietly or not – that our workplace could be much more alive than we allow it to be.