29 Self-Actualised Organisations

The Self-Actualized Legal Person

According to the law in almost every country, companies are given the status of a ‘legal person’. This legal fiction allows companies to have the rights and responsibilities of a ‘natural person’ in holding assets, owning property, and entering contracts.

But if companies are a legal person, what sort of person are they?

Mature, self-actualized behaviors of organizations, as legal-person members of society, means taking responsibility for actions and inactions in the context of everything that an organization is exposed to.

It is not just making money. And it’s not just picking and choosing goals based on what the law dictates that they must do. Mature adults don’t choose their actions by what their parents tell them they have to do.

Mature responsible adults make up their own mind on what is important. They develop character with moral, civil and ethical outlooks, and gain respect from their interactions and performance within their communities. A good life, and a fulfilling life, is seen as one in which we deliver on the promise of our potential.

We need our commercial, community and government organizations to step up to be more mature and self-actualized.

Mature organizations need to be able to deliberatively make up their minds for themselves on what they want their character and personality to be. On what is important to them. And, what they are prepared to be scrutinized over by others. They need to stand by their commitments, and introspectively re-examine themselves continuously over time.

Mature organizations need to balance their action in this context. They need to make sure they are not overreacting, and not under-reacting. They should have no blind spots, and no material omissions. They should correct for failures when actual performance doesn’t meet their expectations of themselves. Organizations should be calm, deliberative actors who are able to adequately communicate the scope and basis of their thinking to their staff, owners and clients – and be accountable for their thinking and behavior.

Organizations as ‘legal persons’ are, in effect, immortal. But are they wise? They can continue to develop their knowledge and capacity and resources forever. They can continually lift their potential well beyond what a single human being is able to do. Organizations – be they commercial, community or governments – should strive to be aware of, and live up to, their potential. Organizational leaders are stewards of that potential. It is their job to see that potential realized to the greatest purposeful effect – neither squandering the resources (financial governance), nor the opportunity cost of the potential entrusted to their care (value governance).

The question at hand is “Can this be achieved?”.

And, the answer is YES.

We can design and implement mature organizational behaviors in the face of tomorrow’s complexity, uncertainties and unknowable outcomes. We can engineer organizational thinking infrastructure that enables us to exercise mastery in our organizations to engage a level of complexity that is, quite literally, beyond human comprehension.

Research evidence shows that mature organization, like mature adults, not only lead more self-actualized fulfilling purposeful existence, but are also more effective and higher performing at what they choose to do.

excerpt from “FUTURE BETTER: Better Ways Of Work To Accelerate Human Potential”, Danny Davis 2024