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Leadership Styles

Leadership Styles (With a Meditation on the Tao)

Jonathan Limon

Arizona State University

OGL 365

03/01/2022
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Leadership Styles

Leadership Styles (With a Meditation on the Tao)

Part One: Organizational Structures & Leaders

Throughout the course of this book, we have studied many different influential styles of

organizations. Laloux brings to our attention in his reading of Reinventing Organizations,

explaining just how some of the best methods have been used throughout the years. Of course,

not every style is for every type of business. In fact, these methods are more of a mindset one

must understand and learn how to shift. Although every style isn’t for every organization, certain

styles do stand out more as a better fit for others. For example, red organizations prey off fear

and violence while green can be more about culture and family pillars. Below, I have gathered a

few examples to break down in detail and explain each style of organization.

Red - Magic/Tribal: North Korea & Kim Jong-Un

Red organizations started over 10,000 years ago. They are fluid and usually personality

based, running their organizations off fear and strict regulations. Most common examples of red

organizations are recognized as street gangs, mafias, drug corporations, even third world country

terrorist groups. One can say this is not so common now a days, but not every organization acts

within the law. A lot of these groups are always into street crimes and illegal activities. A big

trait when it comes to red leadership is how impulsive they can be to decisions.

Kim Jong-Un has a unique style of leadership and can fall into the red organization

category. Many may know Kim Jong-Un as a famous political leader. Although he is popular, he

is not among the top favorite of leaders. He took his role on leadership in 2011 (Murray, par. 1)

and has carried on the leadership style of his father still. Even though not originally his own

leadership style, he continues to operate in the way it has always ran. Many felt that North Korea
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was a great country for some time, but in the recent years it’s came out that North Korea is not

what it is pictured to be. Citizens are scared to speak out on the truths, fearing for their lives.

Many cannot speak bad of their leader as there can be bad repercussions.

Over the course of many months, programmers have been converting communications

network to put questions to North Koreans without giving away their identities, in fear of being

faced with deathly consequences (Cowan, 2018). There are many stories of citizens trying to

escape to South Korea, but if captured they can face time in prison. Everyone in the country lives

in poverty, worshiping Kim as a god, at least how he describes it. Bordering countries like China

and Russia also have extraditing laws for any illegal North Koreans looking to escape the

country.

Amber- Traditional/Agrarian: Arizona State University

In amber organizations, it is ran with different rulings than those discussed in red. With

amber organizations, they are more traditional based and are governed by immutable laws. They

always maintain a form of hierarchy and repeated processes. Examples of some organizations in

amber leadership would be the army, catholic church, and public-school systems. Amber

organizations follow more of a pyramid style of levels and are rule based organizations. So,

somebody is always reporting to higher up.

An organization that best resembles this style of leadership is our own school of Arizona

State University. Even though we are on an online accelerated course, there are still high

standards and lots of regulations here. At the top of our pyramid is Michael M. Crow, president

of the school, and from there it goes down to the bottom which is us students. We report to

instructors, instructors report to their faculty, faculty, reports to the board, and so on. we have
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strict deadlines which can face repercussions if not met, such as deadlines on weekly homework

assignments.

Orange- Scientific/Industrial: Ford Automotive

When it comes to orange organizations, these types of organizations are a step up as

described in amber. They maintain their pyramid structure and build off innovation. Orange

groups tend to be more of a heroic leadership and usually categorize well with global corporates

or wall street. They pursue innovation, breakthroughs, and success through freedom and

exercising accountability. Orange organizations are different from the rest because these are the

types of organizations where you would usually find project teams or staff functions. Most of the

organizations that operate with orange leadership began to emerge about 500 years ago.

Promotions in these organizations usually go to the best achiever, run as incentive-based

organizations, and work towards individual targets.

Most of today’s businesses consult the change from amber to orange. As we move

forward with time, all these organizations evolve into their next stage, sometimes orange to

green. They can either be hard or soft transitions into the next stage. Some examples of how this

can happen are by talent development, leadership development, or coaching for soft transitions.

For harder transitions though, it can be more like incentive systems, continuous improvement,

and clear accountabilities.

A company that can identify with orange leadership structures would be Ford. Ford

Automotive companies I feel are great examples of orange organizations because they follow in

the industrialized trend which started not so long ago. Their set up is held by many projects, each

model vehicle is a new project. innovations are made to these projects to create breakthroughs,

new updates to their model vehicles. They operate in a pyramid structure, having the CEO on top
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and workers at the bottom. Quality, capacity design, and safety design are all examples of

different projects that can be held by the company. The amount of work they put into their

projects is a lot as they focus on delivering high quality products. The hold maintenance and

manage an inventory of manufacturing methods. Recently in 2008, Ford made drastic changes to

their operations management in hopes of maintain consistency, flexibility, and various business

conditions based on different market contexts (Kissinger).

Green -- Post-modern/Informational: Boys & Girls Club of America

Most organizations are heavier on their rules, but with green organizations is where the

optimism begins to open. Green organizations are new still, emerging in leadership about 50

years ago. In green organizations, it is all about relationship in their world. They are culture

driven organizations, have values within their company, empowerment, and follow a stakeholder

model. Just like amber and orange, green also has a pyramid scheme but all their employees are

empowered. These types of leaders are more caring about their employees and humble. They

build their entire business around their values while creating a culture that their people can

engage in., we begin to leave the idea of individualism in this style organization and focus on

team targets and bonuses.

An organization I felt matches the green organization style is the Boys & Girls Club of

America. Although one may question as to how this can be, it was something more I experienced

with my kids. A nonprofit organization which provides programs and services to promote and

enhance the development of boys and girls by installing senses of competence, usefulness,

belonging, and influence (VCU, 2020). This statement is a great example of the value driven

culture that they have for their participants in their programs.

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My son uses to attend, and always felt as he had friends among other children as well as

faculty. Getting to know their tutors is always interesting, I have heard several students from

tutors and teachers about how they use to be a part of the program. Their own paid tutors would

tell me about how they use to attend as a child, and they enjoyed the culture so much they

continued to go apply for positions within the company. I personally got to experience myself the

empowerment they put into their students, making them feel important and a part of something

bigger.

Part Two- Teal Leadership and the Tao

Teal Leadership Demonstrating Understanding of the Tao

Teal leadership differs from all the styles mentioned in the first half. Teal organizations

are more on the self-management, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose of oneself (Laloux).

They carry value and high moral throughout their workplace. Their flow is in sync, and they

have a way of balancing their energy, their presence unknown.

1.Tao Means How

The first passage instantly stood out to me. Tao means how, or how things happen. I have

always believed in finding reason and understanding the purpose of everything. There is always

a reason if you can find the purpose, or principal. This passage was all about having self-

awareness within myself. Keeping an open mind and allowing myself to be free of prejudice and

judgement.

14. Knowing What is Happening

I felt this passage really reflected closely to current difficulties I face in the workplace

now. According to a leadership test from my other class, communication is one of the traits I

have a harder time with. In the passage, it says “When you do not understand what a person is
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saying, do not grasp for every word. Give up your efforts. Become silent inside and listen with

your deepest self.” This passage stood out because this feels like something I do. I always want

to understand the motive of ones actions. Spending constant time trying break apart more

complex situations. This tells me to listen more than I do talk. I also tend to think of the future of

where I could be headed but living in the present is always what is more available than fantasies

and memories. This not only drives me to take its meaning deeper, but to also implement it in my

leadership.

19. Self-Improvement

I am a victim of trying to read self-improvement books myself. I have read many

different personal growth literatures and feel that this is always a safe subject to talk about. Lots

of people offer different programs offering help in your personal life journey, but at times you

can become very critical of your own self. I have discussed with others who have used these

programs, and not a lot of people always feel this works out for them. I at a point felt I became

very selfless of the person I was. I still am, I don’t take other judgements personal. I never make

promises for the reason there can always be disappointment, as your expectations don’t always

align with others. This Tao passage describes everything in a different perspective.

Personal Thoughts

A teal leader demonstrates knowledge of the Tao by showing acting as a teal leader and

creating a balance in the workplace. Teal leaders that possess knowledge of the Tao also create

harmony in their workflow, they have a connection with the universe and drive themselves to

their wholeness. They perform with actions over words and don’t feel the need to make their

presence known. Trust is big in their organizations as they allow leaders to develop into their

organizations, creating secondary cultures within their culture driven organizations.

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My personal thoughts when it comes to a teal leadership is I am all for it. I like the way a

teal organization self manages and carries an evolutionary purpose. I watched a documentary and

although I cannot remember its name, there was something that stood out to me. they talked

about how this new generation of “millennials”, which I’m considered a part of, are not

interested in just any job. Many millennials want to work somewhere where they feel they have a

purpose and feel a part of something bigger. The wholeness and evolutionary purpose are

important to my generation, and this leadership style is one that many of us can relate to. Who

doesn’t want to feel productive, like their work is going towards something worth meaning

anything in the world? I’m sure there are some people who don’t want to deal with the high

complexity of teal leadership styles. The organizational structure of decision making, crisis

management, and informational flows are only a few examples that come with the skillset of a

teal leader.

Conclusion

Laloux had a good outline about the leadership of the future. As we move forward, our

styles of leadership change and adapt. If we push our generation into teal organizations, even

green, we can lead a revolutionary way of conducting business. Reading about the different ways

organizations were able to operate in with the examples gave an insight into how these

organizations changed from the inside out. Not everyone will be able to switch. But as we move

forward with technology, we can make this more real by starting with our new generations,

starting at a young age. It’s not a method of brainwashing, as we are educating them of a new

way of managing themselves and how to strive in the workplace.

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References

Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing Organizations. Nelson Parker.

Murray, Lorraine, Britannica, Retrieved from URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kim-

Jong-Eun

Cowan, Michael, 2018, May 29th, Ordinary North Koreans Dare to Speak Out Despite Fear,

Retrieved from URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44290822

Kissinger, Daniel, 2022, Ford Motor Company Operations Management, 10 Decisions,

http://panmore.com/ford-motor-company-operations-management-10-decisions-areas-

productivity

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2020, June 9, Boys & Girls Club, Retrieved from URL:

https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/youth/boys-girls-clubs/

Aster, Hannah, 2021, May 6, Taoism: Leadership is About Trust and Balance, Retrieved from

URL: https://www.shortform.com/blog/taoism-leadership/