Organisational Structure

The organisational structure of the One Woman Project is a bit different to other organisations in the feminist space. Instead of being a hierarchical organisation, we are what is known as a Teal organisation.

We transitioned to a Teal organisation structure in early 2021, following an organisation-wide consultation and unanimous vote (you can read about these processes here if you are interested!).

As part of your time as a volunteer with OWP, you will take part in a four-part training series on Teal, known as our Teal Training Program. Before you undertake this training, check out some introductory resources below.

What’s a teal organisation?

A Teal organisation is a type of organisational structure for organisations, companies and collectives that reimagines and reinvents how organisations can function, how their teams can work and how management can exist within a holistic framework.

First noted by Frederic Laloux in 2013 in his pivotal book Reinventing Organisations (read a free PDF version here if you like!), Laloux argues that something is broken in today’s organisations - particularly, they are not evolving as historically they should be.

Laloux provides the examples of red, amber, orange, green and (finally) teal organisations, and how these colours can be used to demonstrate how organisations have (and should) evolve over time. There’s a great video (below) demonstrating what each of these colours mean, and examples of organisations whose structure fits into these colour categories.

What’s the difference between a teal organisation and other feminist organisations?

So, what is the difference between a teal organisation like OWP, and how other organisations are structured?

Well, teal organisations operate within the context of three systems that fundamentally challenge and change management as we know it:

  1. Self-management;

  2. Wholeness; and

  3. Evolutionary Purpose.

There’s a great video exploring these three concepts (above), but in brief:

  1. Self-management says that, instead of hierarchical structures, we should have fluid systems of distributed authority and collective intelligence;

  2. Wholeness tells us to bring our whole, authentic selves to work; and

  3. Evolutionary purpose says that, instead of trying to control and predict the future, we should listen and understand what the organisation (and its people) are drawn to become, and where it naturally wants to go, as aligned with the vision and mission of the organisation.

BUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

Here at OWP, we recognise that for new team members, operating in these ways can be very strange at first - and the whole concept of a teal organisation might feel scary!

Please be easy on yourself and accept that it may take a few months to get used to the ways things work. And never feel embarrassed to ask a question or challenge the way things work at OWP.

As part of your time as a volunteer with OWP, you will take part in a four-part training series on Teal, known as our Teal Training Program. Before you undertake this training, check out some introductory resources below.

Self-management

Here at OWP we’ve done away with traditional management hierarchies and embraced self management. Self-management aims to provide a clear structure for decision-making, without requiring a boss (or manager), and draws on the collective intelligence of everyone in the organisation.

As members of a self-managed team, we each take on full responsibility and ownership of the organisation, the work and roles we take on. We are trusted to make decisions and take action, providing we seek advice from others. Our belief is that the people doing the work often have the best insights and abilities to deal with issues as they arise - you are on the frontlines! When we see a challenge or opportunity in the organisation, we don’t bump it up the chain to our manager, we take on responsibility for finding a solution.

Whilst self-management does away with a pyramid hierarchy, it isn’t a totally flat or anti-hierarchical approach. Instead, when someone takes on a role they are given the power and trust to lead that piece of work on behalf of OWP. Decision-making power therefore evolves in response to work that needs to be done and who has the capacity and skills to take it on.

Learn about the power of self-managed teams below.

Because of our focus on self-management, there are a couple of things that are different at OWP compared to a traditional organisation:

Organisational Structure

There is no one ‘in charge’ in our teams. Instead of having a ‘manager’ who does the traditional management functions of arranging meetings, writing agendas, facilitating meetings and ensuring all team members achieve their goals, these tasks are distributed amongst the team.

Because of this, our organisational structure visually looks a bit unique. Instead of a hierarchical pyramid structure, we exist within bubbles:

OWP Org Chart - June 2021.png

To explain this further:

  • Each big pink bubble represents one of our portfolios: Executive/Finance/People & Culture; Education & Curriculum; Engagement & Outreach; and Online Engagement & Brand (you can see their headings highlighted in purple at the top of each bubble).

  • Each little pink bubble represents the National Director of that portfolio, and their responsibilities.

  • Each little light purple bubble represents our Coordinators and State Directors and their responsibilities.

  • Each little dark purple bubble represents our team members and their responsibilities.

  • The speech bubble identifies the go-to person that the People & Culture team need to seek advice from when bringing someone new into that portfolio.

  • The coloured triangles are any working groups the team member is a part of (read more about these under Support & Training);

  • The coloured diamonds are any caucuses the team member is a part of (read more about these under Support & Training); and

  • At the centre of it all is our organisational mission, that We believe that the first step to ending global gender inequity is to educate and upskill our young people to tackle it in their own local, national and international communities!

The above image is just a snapshot of our team at a point in time. You can view the current live organisational structure and team here.

Some key things to note about organisational structure in a self-managed framework:

  • Our National Directors are not managers, they are coaches and are there to:

    • Provide guidance and advice;

    • Ensure outcomes set by the team match the evolutionary purpose of the organisation (basically so what we do as a team aligns with our values and mission);

    • Design the strategic direction of the portfolio;

    • Undertake monitoring and evaluation; and

    • Coach team members (in everything from time management and capacity, to the specifics of their role).

  • All roles and responsibilities within a team are distributed based upon capacity, interest and skills/experience (so if you are keen to gain more skills in a particular area, take on a role relevant to that!);

  • Management tasks are distributed amongst the broader team. This includes:

    • Arranging and scheduling of portfolio team meetings;

    • Reminders for team meetings on Slack;

    • Developing and sending out agendas for team meetings;

    • Typing and emailing out the minutes for team meetings;

    • Providing updates on team activities at State Team Meetings;

    • Checking any central email lists (ie; Blog inbox, RARA inbox, VIC inbox); and

    • Arranging individual team socials/training.

  • We have a lot of team communication and team trust. One of our values is that we collaborate and we trust our team to execute their roles. With this, comes a commitment to ourselves and each other that if we are unable to execute these roles, or our capacity changes, or something happens that will prevent us from doing what we promised to, we will tell and be honest with our team. This allows us to reallocate based on the capacity of our broader team, support those who may be struggling, and engage in self-care/community care.

Practicing Self-Management

Each team member is responsible for their own self-management within OWP. What this means is that there is no ‘manager’ chasing you up if you haven’t undertaken a task - instead, you are accountable to your broader team. If you do not communicate to your broader team, or you do not undertake a task you have committed to, you are accountable to your team and responsible for the consequences (both positive and negative) of your roles and responsibilities.

We know that self-management can be quite a new experience for many people, and one that is really frightening! So we have compiled some resources to help you ease into it.

Below, is a video on Time Management & Project Management training that we undertook within the organisation. We recommend you have a watch and think about what time/project management techniques you can bring to your own self-management.

We also have a bunch of written resources:

If you are nervous about self-management, have a chat with the rest of the folks in your team - they will have a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share with you, and have all been in your shoes before!

Advice Process for Decision-Making

Another significant difference to other, more traditional organisations, is that when you have a self-managed team (like OWP), this means that any team member can make any decision, relevant to their role.

To ensure that effective, impactful and educated decision-making is occurring within OWP, we follow the Advice Process for decision-making. The Advice Process states that:

  • Any team member can make any decision relevant to their role, provided that they seek advice from:

    • People who are meaningfully impacted; and

    • People with expertise in the matter.

Where a decision does not impact anyone meaningfully, there is no need to seek advice. Where it does impact people meaningfully, then you need to seek their advice and advice from those with expertise.

You can read this great article by Medium on the Advice Process, and watch our training video on Making Decisions below:

It’s important to remember that once you have received advice from those who are meaningfully effected and those who have expertise in the matter, you are then responsible for weighing up this advice. Importantly, you do not have to follow the advice, but you do have to be accountable for the consequences of your decision.

For instance, in the first scenario (above), if you seek advice on spending $3, 500 above your budget, and that advice says ‘No, don’t do it’, and you choose to do it anyway, you will be responsible and accountable to the entire team for the removal of those funds from their budgets. We are all held accountable for our actions.

The process of seeking advice also should not be excessive. For instance:

  • You can seek advice through a team meeting (a simple sentence saying, ‘I would like to do x', does anyone have any objections’ will suffice);

  • You could post a Slack message to the relevant team or individuals;

  • You could send out an email; or

  • You could have a phone call or Zoom chat with the relevant people.

Some guidance on the Advice Process:

  • Don’t be scared - it’s okay to ask for help during this process, and it will get easier the more time you spend making decisions;

  • Set deadlines for when you want the advice by;

  • It’s okay if people don’t have feedback or advice: you have sought their advice, they don’t have it, that’s okay! Just go ahead and make your decision. You don’t have to chase people for feedback if they don’t have any to give;

  • If you are unsure who to ask for advice from, you National Director can help;

  • If you asked for feedback, but didn’t get any, but you are still wanting more advice, ask your National Director - have a chat, they are there to support you!

wholeness

Wholeness is the idea that we allow each and everyone of us to bring our whole, authentic selves to OWP.

We believe people do their best work when they feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. We shouldn’t have to mask our feelings, personalities and ideas when we show up to work. 

Embracing wholeness at OWP means we take the time to build relationships of trust with one another, learning about our respective histories, stories and motivations that makes us tick as feminists. It means taking time to reflect on what is working well in our culture and how we can improve the way we work together. 

Our goal is to bring as much care and humanity as possible into the way we work. We want the systems of the organisation to work for us, not against us, feeling safe, supported and healthy at work. 

We do this through:

  • Integrating our values into everything we do;

  • Establishing caucuses to support the diverse identities that make up the feminist movement; and

  • Ensuring we prioritise self care, community care and accountability.

Evolutionary purpose

OWP’s work is rooted in an ambitious purpose and vision where We believe that the first step to ending global gender inequity is to educate and upskill our young people to tackle it in their own local, national and international communities.

We believe that how we deliver on that purpose is continually evolving as we make progress in our work, learn from our mistakes, respond to societal shifts, better understand the oppressive systems we are challenging, gather insights from other movements and forge relationships with a wide range of feminist groups.

We are open to being challenged and challenging ourselves to make OWP the most effective organisation it can be both internally and externally.

In practical terms:

  • We have two whole team training weekends annually (a Mid Year Training and an End of Year Training), to zoom out and reflect on our work and reassess priorities;

  • We have fortnightly meetings and trainings, where we can come together as a team to learn and grow;

  • We have biannual feedback and performance reviews, to learn how we can support you as a volunteer better; and

  • At any time, any one in the team is encouraged to share new ideas or agitations to our current way of doing things. 

At OWP we believe the organisation is in a continual process of learning and growth. There isn’t a perfect model for any organisation, there are always new opportunities and challenges that emerge in how we work together. The key is knowing that we all have a hand in shaping what OWP is and can be, and each of us has the power to change the organisation for the better. 

are you a national Director, coordinator or state directors (or want to be)?

The role of the ‘leadership’ team within a Teal structure is a bit different - here’s a video explaining:

  • Why we are having this separate chat;

  • Your role within a Teal structure; and

  • Some things to beware of.

For more resources on coaching, visit:

We have also developed this excellent training on coaching below (video):

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on how OWP transitioned to this framework:

For more information in general on teal organisations, visit: