TSPA values and principles define what is essential for us. As a team, we reimagined the values and principles that lie at the core of how we work and developed a renewed sense of what TSPA is. They reflect our axis as individuals and professionals, but also, the goals we have in our internal dynamics and projects. They are about cooperation, teamwork, a shared philosophy of honesty, excellence, joy, and the creative potential to constantly learn. They are about providing job security for members of our team while also considering the common good.
These values and principles were the starting point for our office transformation—they helped us transition from a one-person company toward a cohesive team structure in which we think of individuals as a whole, not just as employees.
A Teal Organisation
Four years ago, TSPA reached an inflection point, realising that the organisation's structure needed to change to reflect the growing dynamics of the team. Fundamental questions emerged: how could we transform our conditions to establish trust, collaborative communication, and non-assertive problem-solving? We evaluated plenty of the organisational literature that was available in 2020. Self-management and holacratic decision-making stood out as a viable approach to increase agility, efficiency, transparency, innovation, and accountability.
Inspired by Frederic Laloux’s book Reinventing Organisations, describing the evolution to teal organisations, the team held a retreat to embark on this process.
How could we make self-management work at TSPA? What values and principles could we collectively decide on to underpin this structure?
The 14 Principles That We Think Define TSPA
We illustrate each principle with an anecdote from office life.
A was working on a submission that occupied her entirely, leaving her no time for lunch. J decided to take some weight off her shoulders by sharing his lunch with her. It may have left him a bit hungry, but this small sacrifice allowed A to keep going through the day with food in her stomach.
Instead of shaking off others' troubles and leaving everyone to resolve their problems individually, we think of each other as a group.
During an international project, the team went the extra mile to fine-tune all the map details and graphics. Though this exercise was tedious at the time, it turned out to serve as an asset for future projects. The high quality of the local competition maps wouldn’t have been possible without these previous efforts.
Even though putting in the extra work may feel like unnecessary effort, it can result in excellent products with long-term benefits.
E is passionate about policy advice, and S loves hand drawing.
By uncovering our passion in our work, we can easily excel while truly enjoying what we do. Combined with rationality and precision, it provides our projects with a beautiful balance of creativity and reason.
N locked herself out of her apartment in the middle of the night and asked for help in our office chat. Everyone in the team immediately reacted to her message, offering a place to stay overnight, instead of treating the message as another work-related notification or ignoring her problem.
We show empathy and compassion toward each other, prioritising mutual respect, support, and genuine care for colleagues.
While working on some structure plans, M and V spent most of the time laughing, being playful, and working together from one computer. An outside observer might interpret this jaunty dynamic as unproductive or unprofessional.
Working closely together while learning and having fun leads to outstanding, creative results with much fewer errors.
While working on a project design, the team struggled with finding space for a very large train depot. The project brief was unclear whether it should be included in the site or not. Instead of addressing this obstacle directly and early, the team hoped for the best and assumed it was optional, carrying on with more exciting parts of the project. It turned out that the client did not see the depot as optional, which resulted in lots of additional work for the team later in the project.
People tend to avoid subjects that are not their strength. Instead of skipping or postponing them, we prioritise them. Facing challenges is hard, but pays off.
Our transformation of TSPA’s management and core structure is a strong example of this. We explored various concepts and principles to improve the office.
Though we may not always know the end result, we are continually improving through experimentation.
Just after joining TSPA, A selected and presented sites as sample focus areas for a local competition. Despite, or because of, her limited knowledge of Berlin, her unique input was valuable and made the selection much easier.
It is the perspective, creativity, and the knowledge of an individual that defines them, not their age, gender, or position. Leaving space for more diverse inputs often leads to new solutions: quality through quantity. Constant learning and open-mindedness keep us cutting-edge, creative, and good at what we do.
For one of our international projects, TSPA produced beautiful, colourful maps, which would look great in our portfolio. But, it turned out they were not suitable for our client—small municipalities might not have a colour printer to support these maps. The team adapted the graphics so they would be readable, even if photocopied in black and white.
Our projects make sense, help the client, and can practically be implemented. We adapt to the varying realities of the clients and regions we work in.
While working for an international project, T was not able to travel abroad for an extended mission and workshops. Instead of forcing the situation and traveling despite the conflicts, he asked A to go in his place and represent the office, even though she was very new to the team. This arrangement was beneficial for T, A, and TSPA: T could take care of the other projects, A felt recognized, responsible, and trusted, and the office as a whole benefitted from excellent project results.
We embrace trust through radical honesty, fostering an environment where individuals can rely on each other’s integrity and transparency to build strong and authentic relationships.
A was researching different urban block typologies in Berlin. During a team meeting, she learned that C already did a very similar study, which C happily shared. Knowledge sharing makes TSPA resilient: the company still works, even when someone is absent. This dynamic represents the level of transparency, trust, and shared knowledge that we aim to have in the team.
Everybody wins through sharing, communication, and openness rather than keeping things to oneself.
Shortly after implementing our circle strategy, all members of the IT circle were on holidays. Y, the only person available, was able to restart the server and take care of technical issues, even though this was not her responsibility. She didn’t necessarily have the expertise to do it.
Being part of a team means we share a sense of responsibility beyond our expected tasks. We want to feel accountable for and proud of our work.
There was disagreement with one of our partners regarding efficiency and workload. The unconformity got stronger and stronger. We decided to address the underlying issues and have this painful, but very necessary, conflict. It went very well: by addressing the issues—in this case, different communication styles—we were able to discover a common interest. The relationship and workflow between both teams improved enormously, and the project achieved remarkable outcomes.
Conflicts are unavoidable; the question is how we approach them. We aim to face the conflicts head-on, understand other perspectives, and look for common goals. This way, we can learn from ourselves and others and move forward more efficiently.
In the early stages of a project, the proposals suggested demolishing old areas of a city to build luxury hotels and apartments in their place. T spoke up and made clear that this was an unethical route to pursue. Taking action means caring: caring about the environment, caring about making a positive impact on the world, caring about recognising what the actual problem of the client is, and caring enough to get to the bottom of things.
Conflicts between financial and ethical considerations are unavoidable. We must always prioritise what we know is important and take action when the work deviates from our beliefs.
Meaningful Contributions
These values and principles form the backbone of our work, guiding us not only in our day-to-day interactions, but also, in our overarching goals and ambitions. We want to foster an environment where each team member is empowered to contribute meaningfully. This ultimately leads to more innovative solutions and a shared sense of responsibility and achievement.
We have made some tough decisions in the past few years. Nonetheless, we found a model that works for us and established the framework for working and growing sustainably. As Thomas Stellmach, urbanist and founder of TSPA, wrote in a reflection about the organisation’s transformation,
“In the end, this is about happiness: being part of an institution that represents our personal beliefs and where we have the power of shaping our future.
