The 4 Quadrants

One thing I think a lot about is how to work with and sustain change on all levels of an organization. I have found Ken Wilber’s 4 quadrants and Frederic Laloux’s explanation of them a very helpful framework to work within, and now I wish to share it with all of you. I strongly encourage you to watch Laloux’s explanation before continuing.

Here I offer my reconstruction of the 4 quadrants and a brief explanation:

The 4 quadrants.

The four quadrants are divided along two axes - the vertical goes from the individual to the collective while the horizontal axis goes from the internal to the external. Mindsets and beliefs are individual and internal, e.g. cannot be directly observed while behaviors are individual and can be directly observed.

Culture is a collective set of mindsets and believes that is hard to observe, while the structures are the collective policies, “ways of doing things” that are pretty direct to explain and and adhere to. Overall, Mindsets and beliefs, behaviors, and structures all feed into creating the culture of the space one is in.

As someone who wants to re-envision what is possible in education, I use this framework when thinking of any changes at the school I work at. I am very interested in the alignment of structures, behaviors, and mindsets to develop a setting that not only looks right but feels right as well.

This is an invitation to consider how the 4 quadrants can work for you as you consider what you wish to change or maintain. Or, perhaps, you focus heavily on changing through only one of the quadrants and could benefit from a more balanced approach. This is a powerful framework, indeed!