Leadership, Organisations

What is an Organisation really?

  • 9:08 am
  • July 10, 2025

‘To organise’ is a verb, from which we have created a noun, ‘organisation’ but what is an organisation really? It’s not its articles of incorporation, or its buildings, or even just its people – Ralph Stacey, a leading scholar on complexity and management, argues it is the complex set of social processes and relationships interconnecting them. Although this makes sense, it is not our usual way of relating to organisations, and it has some profound implications for leadership and change. 

Stacey challenges us, in this video to think about organisations, not as fixed entities, but as a collection of human social processes and relationships interconnecting them.

Stacey covers many important areas that we in Future Considerations have been working on and continue to work on. Senior Consultant for Future Considerations Tim Stanyon says, “The need for and importance of  ‘intentionality’ – being clear WHY we are doing what we are doing. One key way to do that is to have a culture where discussing thoughts and feelings is commonplace, where assumptions are surfaced and shared and patterns noted are actively considered against a test of ‘are they serving us?’”.

Stacey points out the social nature of organisations – that essentially we are all creating and re-creating the organisations we are part of. There are many links here to Laloux’s work and Heifetz – especially the notion that organisations are the product of our behaviours and rather than seeing them as ‘broken’ we need to consider that in some ways they are perfectly designed to achieve what they are achieving and for some at least ‘working well’. Says Stanyon “This is a vital insight when working on organisational change“.

Jon Freeman, elaborates “There is a simplicity the other side of this complexity. Paradox is a feature of the universe, but what Stacey is describing are polarities, like breathing in and breathing out, and polarities have to be managed – as Barry Johnson has written in some detail. Life is a dance between order and creative chaos – the Chaord that Dee Hock describes. It is also a dance between the I and the We – our individual self-expression and our choice to be collective. The stages of development that Laloux refers to arise from our human journey with these dances. Becoming aware of our experience is a start, but so much more is possible. The originating theory beneath Laloux’s “stages” (Spiral Dynamics) is filled with insights that make sense of the patterns and simplify the complexity. We can see how they are showing up, and how we might find some new dance steps or change the music.

Ralph Stacey is telling us of the need to change how we think. We explored the dance in our “Making Teal Real: how to reinvent organisations” workshop on April 24th 2017. Jon Freeman will be teaching the deep choreography in his Spiral Dynamics trainings in May and October. What if the new ways of thinking could be easy? [caldera_form_modal id=”CF59ddd7229baa5″]Click here to keep in touch and find out when our next events will be taking place.[/caldera_form_modal]

To go further, see Stacey’s book: Complex Responsive Processes in Organisations. Or get in contact with me to discuss your organisational challenges.

Photo credit: Marek52 via Foter.com / CC BY-NC.

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Jules brings over 45 years of experience to boosting people’s motivation and purposeful contribution to their roles and organisations. With first-hand experience of senior leadership in the private and non-profit sectors and 15 as a consultant.

Jules designs and delivers leadership development and partnering programmes for all levels of leaders and managers. Trained to coach individuals and teams to build trust, techniques and resilience in a volatile and complex world. Clients include Arup, Philips, PwC, Aegon, British Council, and both Universities in Sheffield.

Jules specialises in bringing personal insight and awareness to individuals and teams to help transform their effectiveness and productivity. Jules brings humanity and lightness to the serious work of deepening understanding between people and developing the skills and mastery needed for cooperation to thrive.
Pete has over 20 years of experience helping individuals and organisations achieve their aims. He works with individuals, teams, and entire organisations to this end and has worked with organisations across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Previous clients include Barclays, Boston Consulting Group, HSBC, KPMG, and the UK and Singapore Civil Services.

His speciality lies in the area of Embodied Leadership and Somatic Coaching, where he has written a book and completed a PhD. In addition, he works with conflict in organisations, an area where he has a keen interest. He has many years of experience in action and self-managed learning processes and supervises PhD students on Hult Ashridge’s Doctorate in Organisational Change.

Pete lives in Brighton with his wife and young daughter, reads widely, loves to cook, and practises martial arts.
Lycia’s work is about unlocking potential in pursuit of our dreams to make the world a better place. Her focus is on teams and the magic of what people achieve together.

She takes a systemic approach that shines a light on the deeper dynamics influencing our perception and choices. She accompanies and resources leaders and ‘top teams’ in their role as shapers. She helps groups build cultures for innovation and extraordinary partnership. She helps people explore resistance and stuckness, and what is limiting their success and fulfilment. People are able to act with more awareness, alignment, impact and ease.

Lycia works with groups of all flavours and sizes, sectors and industries.
She is somewhat of a complexity nerd, and is certified in Leadership Circle and Collective Leadership Assessment, the Organisation Workshop (the work of Barry Oshry) and has trained continuously since 2011 in systemic constellations.
With 20 years’ experience working in the international arena, James has coached leaders of international organisations and multinational corporations for performance enhancement in multi-cultural settings and develops the capacity of senior management to work productively in diverse teams.

As a facilitator, James excels in working in multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary teams using innovative, solution-oriented methodologies. He facilitates multi-stakeholder processes to co-create joint strategies and plans for joint ventures, mergers and collaborative poverty reduction strategies. In order to ensure success of these plans, James provides coaching on change management, organisational culture and performance management.

James uses a range of coaching tools and techniques which support learning and performance and has certificates in Systems Coaching, embodied Coaching and Constellations. Clients include JP Morgan, Daimler FS India, Pertamina, The Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Kantar, IFC Hong Kong and Bank Negara Indonesia.
Patricia is a deep listener, being able to see what is really needed and alive beyond what is initially said or seen (making the invisible visible). She establishes a safe and inviting learning space where people feel comfortable to step out of their comfort zone and stretch themselves to the edges of their abilities.

She designs learning programmes, workshops and coaching interventions that are fit to the challenge of growing people and that are fresh, engaging and motivational and she facilitates with compassion, depth and humour. She is a ICF certified coach, specialising in systemic coaching of organisations and individuals.

She has over 20 years business experience, including as head of Learning and Development for a large bank before starting her own business in leadership and organisational development - consulting, training, facilitating and coaching. Her clients are globally spread in different industries and sectors including finance, automotive, insurance, pharmaceutical, supply chain, manufacturers.
Jaroslav has been developing leaders for over 20 years during which he designed and delivered more than 10,000 hours of global development programmes, coaching sessions, workshops and learning interventions for clients such as Bayer, HSBC, Shell, Mars, Vodafone, Microsoft, Ford, KPMG and Accenture.
He specialises in leadership coaching, innovative learning design and helping people successfully partner with AI in their life and work.

Jaroslav has personally coached close to 500 senior and mid-level leaders on topics such as improving performance, career progression, building a high-performing team and others. He has designed and built numerous self-paced and cohort-based online development programmes, which include virtual coaching and delivery.

He has also been trained as a futurist at Singularity University and spent close to 10 years training and coaching future-focused innovators, entrepreneurs, business owners and thought-leaders globally.
Celine is a coach, consultant and facilitator, working with change-makers to reshape the world of work, business and society. With 30 years’ experience across brand strategy, sustainability, organisational development and coaching, Celine works with leaders and teams to align Purpose, Meaning and Impact. Her clients include large corporations, NGOs, charities & foundations & educational institutions.

Celine is a certified practitioner and trainer with Map of Meaning International, bringing a powerful framework for cultivating meaningful work at individual, team and organisational levels. She is also the founder of Meaningful Futures, a social innovation project giving young people the skills and confidence to craft meaningful and regenerative careers.

Celine holds an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice and advanced coaching qualifications. She draws on a wealth of experience in personal transformation and systems thinking to help clients build confidence and clarity to lead complex change from who they are, or put simply: to be themselves and do what matters.
As a facilitator, Louie’s practice includes the design and delivery of structured learning solutions for organisations and teams for both local and international companies located in the Philippines, wider Asia region and the world.
His interests are in the realm of leadership, individual and team development. Louies 22 years of experience includes working with middle management up to the C-suite level. As a coach, Louie combines somatic practices to support his clients in understanding the connection of mind, heart and body. He uses a wholistic approach as a base to provide space for sustainable change. He encourages people to break barriers, challenge what is current and move them to a space of choice and action.

Louie’s training and education involve Somatics, Emotional Intelligence, Interactive Strategies, Action Reflection Learning, NLP, Spiral Dynamics, Improvisation, Transition Coaching, Appreciative Inquiry and he is a certified coach.
Dick brings over 30 years of experience helping organisations navigate complex change and is passionate about helping people engage in purposeful work in a meaningful way.

He delivers leadership development programmes, coaching individuals and teams to build capability, confidence and resilience in a changing world. Recent clients include Arup, Aegon, Zurich, Prudential, and Phillips, with experience spanning from new managers to senior leadership and board level.

His work focuses on systemic approaches to organisational transformation, new ways of working such as self-managing systems, and effective governance. Dick brings a calm, grounded presence and is known for his ability to hold space for deep reflection and practical progress.
Laura specialises in embedding growth mindset at the heart of how organisations operate, lead, and evolve. Her mission is to help people and their organisations become more adaptable in today’s complex world, without the disruption and resistance that often accompany traditional change programmes. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, resilience, and psychological safety, Laura empowers individuals and teams to challenge assumptions, shift behaviours, and drive sustainable transformation.

With over 20 years of commercial experience, Laura brings a unique blend of strategic insight and human-centred practice. Beginning her career at Unilever, she has since worked across many sectors, including Infrastructure, Defence, Finance, Healthcare, Energy, and Government - leading large-scale programmes and enabling leadership development from graduate to C-suite levels. Her work focuses on equipping people with the skills and mindsets needed to lead change, collaborate effectively, and perform at their best in uncertain environments.

Laura loves horse riding and rowing and has 2 young children that occupy much of her spare time!
Since 2000, Beth has been a consultant, coach and facilitator. Beth has coached C-suite executives all over the world. She coaches leadership teams, including those in start-up or transition. Beth has also been part of the development staff in many leadership faculties for multinational organisations such as Shell, Philips, Adidas, Jollibee Food Corporation, British Petroleum and others. Her ability to work across multiple cultures has been honed through her leadership responsibilities as a global senior executive at Johnson & Johnson and through worldwide and regional assignments in leadership development for a range of multinationals as a programme developer and executive coach.

Abundant energy and physical stamina, Beth has an infectious but grounded energy. Her communication skills carry her comfortably from the lecture hall to the boardroom. Her coaching skills can give an invaluable boost to rising, or temporarily sputtering, organisational stars. She has been recognised for her unique ability to draw out extraordinary performance in organisations and teams with diverse members.
Jon’s early career designing applications led to him becoming IT director for a market-leading multinational. His systemic perspective, allied with a background in psychology and subsequent leadership experience inside major organisations was followed by intensive learning in personal development, values systems and multiple intelligences. Brought together, these create a transformational perspective for understanding and developing organisations as living systems.

Jon is a master trainer in Spiral Dynamics, a founder director of the UK chapter of Conscious Capitalism and a certified Spiritual Intelligence coach. He is the author of several books and articles and is developer of Relational Being, a visionary whole-systems approach to evidence-based spirituality, complexity science, human emergence, societal change and conscious business. This breadth of experience and deep understanding informs his work as a consultant, coach, trainer and facilitator
Jon Freeman, UK

Jon’s early career designing applications led to him becoming IT director for a market-leading multinational. His systemic perspective, allied with a background in psychology and subsequent leadership experience inside major organisations was followed by intensive learning in personal development, values systems and multiple intelligences. Brought together, these create a transformational perspective for understanding and developing organisations as living systems. Jon is a master trainer in Spiral Dynamics, a founder director of the UK chapter of Conscious Capitalism and a certified Spiritual Intelligence coach. He is the author of several books and articles and is developer of Relational Being, a visionary whole systems approach to evidence-based spirituality, complexity science, human emergence, societal change and conscious business. This breadth of experience and deep understanding informs his work as a consultant, coach, trainer and facilitator.