Montessori as Organization — The Building Blocks of the Future

Montessori school in Berlin, Germany. Photo courtesy of Paola Trabalzini.

Founders are constantly searching for opportunities to improve, innovate and inspire, whether they are focused on building teams, communities, or products, and Montessori offers a multitude of concepts to consider employing and putting into practice. I believe the one-hundred-year-old philosophy of learning that Maria Montessori enacted created a new framework and lexicon by which to imagine building companies and experiences. 

About —

Maria Montessori, the Italian physician turned educator, pioneered a radical approach to education, one based on the individual needs of the students, as opposed to that of the teacher, curriculum or system.

In so doing, she upturned the establishment and created the conditions by which learning could be personalized, reimagining and anticipating many of the conditions of the twenty-first century.

As a trained scientist, Montessori took a very experimental, data-driven approach to education. It would be valued today, in Silicon Valley, for its emphasis on measurement, documentation, and outcomes, and, more broadly, for its holistic spirit of innovation. It’d also be recognized for its aesthetic sensibility, human-centered design, and diverse and inclusive approaches.

Montessori’s hypothesis was fairly simple: everyone learns differently and at their own pace, and therefore, there simply can't be a one-size fits all, ready-made approach to learning. Montessori observed that a child is born curious, and our role as adults is essentially to get out of the way, to construct a safe and healthy learning environment that helps support and facilitate discoveries. There is no need for overtly prescribed instructions or to provide incentives or judgements to learn. Curiosity is a natural condition of life. It is its own reward.

Based on these insights, nearly every existing tenant of education needed to be re-examined, stone by stone: either forcefully cracked at its foundation and reconfigured or constructed anew. As a result, Montessori sought to establish a strong and robust foundation, utilizing the core discoveries of her research as building blocks for the future.

Here are a few key takeaways from the Montessori philosophy of learning that I believe can be directly applied to building a company, creating a product, growing a team or culture, and engaging with a community. They can also provide inspiration for the construction of a philosophy of life. 

1. The Prepared Environment —

The concept of the prepared environment is perhaps the single most innovative construct enacted by Maria Montessori.

The prepared environment is, in my estimations, the first principle by which to come to terms with Montessori and serves as a necessary complement to the mindset needed to recognize and participate in the novel educational experience. For our purposes here, it also serves as a model for how to think about organizing a company, team, community, or perhaps even a product. 

In a world primarily constructed for adults, by adults, with adult-centered considerations, the prepared environment can be thought of as a specifically designed space for children, optimized to help children learn in direct proportion to their interests, sensitivities and needs.

The basic idea draws inspiration from the notion that if the space is structured to be “psychologically satisfying”, it’ll increase the child’s ability to meet their developmental needs, further increasing their confidence to explore and follow their interests. As Montessori elucidates, “children acquire knowledge through experiences in the environment.”

“Concerning proportion, there have to be limitations of size. If the room is too small it acts as a restriction and causes disorder. If it is too big it disperses attention. The proportion of a room, therefore, should not depend only on the possibility of ample circulate of air, or, in other words, its cubic contents, but it should be adapted to what I call psychological proportions or needs”.

Essentially, if everything in the space is purposefully architected, what is in motion will be realized in affinity with the prepared environment. This is to say, in slightly different terminology, if the environment is thoughtfully constructed, a set of expectations will persist, allowing for a wide range of interest and opportunities to be maximized.

In terms of thinking about building a company or product, or working closely with a team or community, a practical insight that resonates from Montessori is: If you take care of the environment, the environment will take care of you. What this means is that a culture is assembled around a set of principles that thereby house and support the development of those who inhabit the space. It is a shift in mindset, a disposition in attitude and everything therein.

If you build the type of company that aligns with a set of values established with your community, and that product adheres to those basic tenets, everything will find its mode of expression in those relations – in so far as the prepared environment is healthy. The question becomes how to prepare the environment to accommodate those needs, while maintaining an unconditional ethos of those principles. 

The prepared environment is always the first place to concentrate efforts and the first place to point fingers. The prepared environment offers an image of thought by which to organize ideas. It is the architectural structure that makes everything possible - a metaphor to make use of as the place where innovation occurs.

 
2. Isolation of Difficulty —

If you picture the prepared environment as an architectural surround that accommodates its inhabitants, and, at the same time, holds fast to the premise that everything happens in relationship to that structure, it becomes increasingly important to learn how to identify problems, work through their specific challenges, and come to understand the state of possible solutions that exists within those constructions.

Ideas can be fragile and difficult to grasp. It is imperative to understand how to take care of them, nurture them, cultivate their proclivities, and, ultimately, develop a philosophy of curiosity.

As Christopher Alexander writes, “A well-designed house not only fits its context well but also illuminates the problem of just what the context is, and thereby classifies the life which it accommodates.”

It can be extremely hard to concentrate on a singular task, especially if it’s part of a larger sequence of work, or if there are distractions in the environment, i.e.: If things are moving too quickly at the company, etc., but it is absolutely necessary to start with the basics. If one room in the house feels out of sorts, the entire house is impacted.

Montessori has a term for this procedure: The isolation of a difficulty. 

At its core, the concept of isolating one difficulty at a time revolves around the idea that a problem must be broken down into its constituent parts. It must be stripped of any preconceived notions, and it must exist without extravagances. Only later will it be repositioned within a larger context. A helpful motto to accompany any such investigations: Assume nothing, if you must assume anything at all. 

The activities in a Montessori classroom are specifically designed to isolate one difficulty, and thereby create a sense of order in the environment. Aesthetics plays an essential function, as it draws attention to the task at hand, literally summoning the investigations, and guiding the experience throughout the process.

Take, for example, the introduction of the pink tower, a Montessori activity utilized to initially teach visual discrimination. It is intentionally designed to be the same color – pink – so as to remove any other unnecessary obstacles. It allows the child to master one aspect of the wooden material at a time. Minimize the confusion to maximize the learning. Only later, after an appreciation has been developed, will other concepts contained within the activity be extrapolated, and fully ascertained.

“The material consists of ten cubes, ranging from 1 cm³ to 1000 cm³. The second cube is the same size as eight of the one-centimeter cubes; that is, it is equivalent to 8 cm³ (or 2 cm cubed); the third cube is equivalent to 27 cm³ (or 3 cm cubed) … the tenth cube is equivalent to 1000 cm³ (or 10 cm cubed). This progression, together with the properties of length, width, height, and weight, give mathematical properties to the physical aspects of the Pink Tower.” Architectural blue prints designed by Bobby George and Hugh Weber.

Everything has a natural place in the prepared environment. There is an order to the problems to be solved, one that is earned and revised through iterations, and it is deliberately, and unmistakably, part and parcel of the whole.

The challenge for a company becomes creating the type of environment where problems can be isolated, diligently worked on and supported without distraction. Creating the space and mindset where difficulties can be isolated in a prepared environment allows for growth and opportunities and the spirit of innovation to run wild. As Annette Haines writes, “A task should neither be so hard that it is overwhelming, nor so easy that it is boring.” Familiarize yourself with the problem and enjoy it.

3. Simple to Complex —

Creating techniques to optimize potential becomes a mainstay in nearly every pedagogical conversation. Invariably, it also becomes a lingering question in many organizations and inevitable in thinking about building products. It is an issue that is rarely adequately addressed, but can be thought of as moving from simple to complex.

How to give shape to a problem? How to outline a problem so it can be encountered, wrestled with and enjoyed, and, ultimately, incorporated? By reversing an otherwise standardized approach to problem solving, Montessori arrives at a rather novel solution.

Instead of starting with the abstract, which she perceives to be the outcome, she begins by introducing a concrete appreciation of the concept. That being the case, she systemically designs an entirely new system of learning, necessarily from the ground up, based on the unadorned idea that everything must be organized from simple to complex. 

For purposes of visualization, a mathematical example can illustrate this well. How to introduce the concept of a number? For Montessori, it is not through abstraction, in this case the numerical representation, “2”. After all, what does the number 2 actually represent? Instead, it is through the introduction of a concrete appreciation of the concept, isolating one difficulty at a time.

Another helpful example is music. Instead of introducing the symbolic representation of a note, how it is depicted on a chord chart as a form of musical notion, it’d be presented first as a sound, and then later, once it has been incorporated, assigned a corresponding name, “C”, etc.

Every problem, no matter the simplicity, should be approached as if for the very first time. This is exactly the revelation in education that Montessori enacted. How many times are concepts introduced first by abstractions? How many times are the problems presented in which they are hard to grasp? It’s a consideration worth keeping close to the chest. 

On this point, Christopher Alexander, is succinct: “Once these concrete influences are represented symbolically in verbal terms, and these symbolic representations or names are subsumed under larger and still more abstract categories to make them amendable to thought, they begin to seriously impair our ability to see beyond them.” Representations have a tendency to obfuscate and betray what swarms otherwise.

If we arrive at the abstract without a firm appreciation of the concrete, it may be the case that we will be limited in our imagination, struggling to grasp the concept fully, and overlook the potential latent in ideas. With respect to organizing a business, the golden ticket, or, in the least, the price of admission, is the thought of continually striving to remove abstraction, to live in the concrete, until it becomes necessary to make it abstract – if at all. 

In order to understand the cardinal idea at work, it must be first broken down. Annette Haines explains, “As children progress and become capable of making more complex connections, they are eventually able to handle information that is less isolated.” With inherent capabilities comes a more attenuated experience.

While this concept may appear to be relatively straightforward, it’s important to keep in mind the spirit of always starting with the simple (reversing engineering problems if needed) and then progressing towards more complexity when appropriate.

It’s just as important that the question constantly remain present: Is this complexity necessary? How to simplify? All too often, problems are arrived at with ready-made solutions. This process allows us to take a collective breath and begin again. If simplicity slips out of place, organizations, products, and communities can lose their way, and complexity never solved anything.

4. Collaboration Trumps Competition —

An old pedagogical idea persists. Namely, the implementation of tests to measure the aptitude of students in relation to the progress of their peers. On this model, competition becomes a game of averages, where the needs of the outliers – those ahead and those behind – become conditioned to the status quo. Students compete against medians, instead of learning how to compete against themselves.

What escapes the competitive approach, and where Montessori enters the discussion, is in an effort to personalize learning experiences, and, as a consequence, maximize individual potential. How does she accomplish this movement? In a turn toward collaboration, and the power of the environment, which supports the growth of everyone learning at their own pace, according to their own needs, all at the exact same time, and in support of one another’s efforts.

At first blush, it may seem counterintuitive. How best to collaborate, however, quickly becomes the generosity of competition that Montessori envisions. With an emphasis on collaboration, the false constructs of an artificial system of competition are evaded. Instead of hierarchies, for instance, which can be extremely heavy, weighing things down, implementing micro-managed practices and other techniques, Montessori creates the prepared environment, which liberates every student in their quest to follow their own interests and pursue their own curiosities.

In a beautiful image of thought, Montessori explains this collaborative approach in respect to a garden: “The usual idea of an educative garden in the sense of one being divided into individual strips for reach child does not appeal to us as anything convincing. The garden should be the result of the collaboration of all the children. There should always be collaboration in protect, collection of fruits, harvesting, and so on. The garden should be, psychologically, a place that allows each one to do what he or she feels like doing.”

Of course, outcomes are necessary. Yet, in this shift of emphasis towards collaboration, it becomes just as essential to create the type of conditions in which potential can be realized without limitation, as it does to ensure proficiencies. Competition can only go so far, whereas collaboration becomes limitless.

In many successful organizations, multidisciplinary teams are deployed to solve problems, tackling questions through the lens of collaboration, often without identity and with a shared connection to the larger mission at hand. Ironically, when there is a shift in perception, and the expectations contained therein, there is also a shift in accomplishment, and what is possible. 

Diverse voices with various talents emerge unified. In these instances, 1 + 1 = 3. Others can accelerate ideas in a symphony of exchanges. Motivation stems, not from personal gain or accomplishment, let alone a career trajectory, but from a much larger mission, to participate in something that exceeds any individual.

5. Freedom Within Limits —

It’s difficult to imagine a more readily applicable Montessori concept to be used in the organization of a company than freedom within limits. Simultaneously, it’d be difficult to find a more mischaracterized, or misunderstood, concept in Montessori.

For our purposes here, it’d be helpful to outline the broad strokes of a working definition of freedom within limits — namely, as a condition of independence, Montessori creates a prepared environment in which children are free to explore their interests, on their own time, at their own pace, in so far as that freedom exists within a set of rules and limitations. Safety is a top priority.

Let’s unpack that further.

Children have complete freedom, and they are empowered to pursue their autonomy, as long as that freedom lives in accordance with predefined and established criteria. Here’s an example: Students in a Montessori classroom are free to choose any work they have been shown, in so far as they don’t abuse the material or work with the activity in a way they haven’t been shown. 

In coming to terms with this concept, it is important to keep in mind a relevant quote from Montessori: “To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.”

Limitations have been set up out of respect for the child and the rules implemented to empower freedom, and not the other way around.

The considerations are at least two-fold:

1) To allow for independence, growth and the ability to choose, and, at the same time, 2) to ensure children are safe, taken care of, and supported in their development, as they continue to progress, gaining confidence through the lessons on their own accord. 

Students observe other students engaging with activities, and, so the idea goes, through the power of absorption of the environment, come to develop a basic understanding and appreciation of the work.

As Montessori reminds us, “Children will never be free unless the environment is safe, such that there is no danger to the child. If there is any possibility of danger, the children cannot be left alone. This results in a lack of freedom and the imposition of the adult personality, in which case the children’s feeling of spontaneity is curbed.”

With respect to building a business, there is much to digest in this quote alone.

With clear expectations and established routines, there is a harmony and order to the environment, a buzz to the work, and a natural excitement. Creativity needs constraints. Montessori creates the conditions needed for children to thrive independently. It’s as if a plant has been constantly tended to and taken care of in order to maximize its growth and well being.

It’s not always easy to achieve balance, to arrive at a set of limits that foster creativity, laying the foundations for growth. But, this is exactly where experimentation happens, when spontaneity emerges, and thinking and productivity take on a life of their own.

Learning how to inspire independence, harness the powers of the imagination, and safely permit experimentation in a company becomes a matter of focus and intent, of intentionally setting limits that allow individuals and ideas to run free.

Health and Wellness —

If Montessori teaches us anything, it’s the importance of taking care – of the environment, of each other, and the powers of the imagination to take us beyond ourselves.

With all of the above in mind, and the lessons shared and examples provided, the health and wellness of the environment is quintessential to what comes to flourish within. While this is not an explicitly articulated concept in Montessori, it is an underlying philosophy of life that permeates the work, a thread to be woven throughout her innovative pedagogy. 

While many of these concepts shared are already widely glimpsed if not underway in companies, small and large alike, I think they could benefit from being further catalyzed in operations, documented in practice, and put to lasting work. In the least, these concepts are tools to try out. If they help build meaningful impact, use them. If not, set them aside. Use only what you can. Build what matters most.

1. Take care of the environment, as it takes care of you.

2. Concentrate your efforts on the environment, instead of individuals.

3. People, plants, and pixels are part of the same environment.

4. Familiarize yourself with problems by asking questions first

5. Reverse assumptions by turning them inside out and examining them.

6. Start with simplicity and strive to remove complexity.

7. Take time to collaborate, pushing to outcompete yourself and realize potential.

8. Search for patterns by which to build together harmoniously.

9. The environment provides the necessary mechanisms.

10. Follow curiosity independently.

"The crucial quality of shape, no matter of what kind, lies in its organization..."

- Christopher Alexander. 

Photos from Montessori 150.

Note: I have previously published, ‘Montessori and the Work Environment’ at Guidepost Montessori, and, ‘How to Adopt a Montessori Style Work Environment’, at the Huffington Post.