In the conventional functional structures of a company, employees are usually fixed to their fixed positions, functions and roles. In traditional matrix organizations, employees can already switch between administrative teams (e.g. workshop, office, sales) and project teams (project 1, project 2, project 3). This is similar to what we model at NVC-plus with our stable home teams and short-term action-based teams. In traditional companies and teams, there is usually a central controlling position, often represented by a boss. Agile teams try to go one step further, but they are still functional teams. At NVC-plus, we do not have a central controlling position. The project or even the entire company is self- organized. Instead of a central management, there are three separate areas of control, which could be traced back to Rudolf Steiner's social threefold structure. Steiner had spoken at that time 1.) of law, 2.) of spiritual science and 3.) of economy. We have translated this as follows: Law does not mean, in its essence, jurisdiction, but the right or good order of togetherness, that is, what is actually the culture of togetherness. The humanities bring innovations and developments into play. Through it, the so important creativity comes into play as an influx of new, expressing vitality. And the economy, that is the active implementation of productive projects. This gives us our threefold division into the collaboration, the innovations and the production of a company. On the other hand, the goals, ways and implementation of people also come into play, which can be described as their visions, strategies and tactical executions. Thus, the following matrix results from the liveliness of the people and the structures that manifest themselves in this way:

A self-directing company does not come out of a hat, it is consciously and actively formed by the people involved. It needs a sufficient number of committed and open people who trust each other enough to start experimenting in this direction. The rest then first arises at a certain level and this only needs to be appropriate or at least sufficient for the project. In the course of practice this level will automatically rise step by step, as people arrive more and more holistically in a living structure. It is also first necessary to get the old dominant and functional organizational structures out of one's head. This is easier than one might think. Because you not only learn NVC-plus, you also remember it, because it carries the structures of natural togetherness.

One can also simply apply the NVC-plus matrix as a diagnostic and prognostic tool if one does not want to use it for self-control. In a spreadsheet program, the NVC-plus matrix can be well presented as a worksheet. You can fill it out together. For virtual conferences, Google spreadsheets might be suitable. There is an App   in   the   App-Stores for mobile devices. In the download we created, we also included more detail worksheets for each area. Each team can play their own creativity and use the tools they are used to. The nine control fields and the three manifestation fields make the collaboration of a team self- organizing. The team can identify its blind spots and initiate the appropriate planning steps there. Not everything that later manifests itself through productive work is also produced directly by the team. For example, the tractor compacts the soil with its weight, but the tractor manufacturer does not directly cause this with its production. The compaction is manifested by driving the tractor on the field. The manufacturer can look at this and try to develop counter concepts. A team can also include what it has not actively produced so that it can intervene where it does not like the passive effects of its actions. In NVC-plus teams, we focus on future- oriented responsibility rather than cultivating past- oriented ideas of blame, because the future can be changed. The three-way split means that the central leadership position is missing. This does not mean that one person does not set the tone, as long as that is wanted and accepted. But there is no central position for that and thus that person will behave similarly to everyone else: All participants switch between the fields according to their inspiration, impulse and perceived meaningfulness. Through these position changes and the free access of all people to the vision, the strategy and the tactical approach, the structure comes alive. With NVC-plus's four-step circle, chaos is avoided and people's aspirations synchronize into shared visions, strategies and tactics. Since each person has his or her own strengths, weaknesses and preferences, these shifts are suitable not only for self-organizing potential where it is needed, but also for learning from each other, supporting each other and getting to know each other better. By introducing the NVC-plus matrix step by step in the context of smaller projects, the necessary understanding and awareness can easily be formed. For a good project start, the NVC-plus matrix will first be filled in as a project matrix. This does not require everyone to be involved, because one can always intervene later in a changing way. When it comes to an inspiring start vision, a good initial strategy or optimal tactics, it helps to sit down with the right people in each case and then make the preliminary results available to everyone. This reduces the amount of communication required and makes teamwork more effective. If you also apply the four- step circle, it works even better. By the way, the NVC- plus matrix is always provisional as a control matrix, because otherwise the work would no longer be self- organized and interactively intelligent.