Sociocratic principles and practices are based on each individual developing leadership skills and sharing the responsibilities of power and decision-making that democracy lacks. What is leadership? How do we all become leaders? How do we support leaders? How does leadership depend on followership?
In order to ensure equality and freedom, the core democratic values, sociocracy requires that policy decisions be made with the consent of those delegated to implement them. Policy decisions are confusing to many people because as citizens and employees, we are rarely asked to make them. Policy decisions are those that determine how we will act in the future. How will we do this? What will guide our actions?
A policy decision tells us how… Read More . . . “Policy Decisions”
How to start a movement?
A fabulous 3-minute video by Derek Sivers on how to start a movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ
The first follower is an underestimated form of leadership in itself… The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.
The leader has to have the courage to stand alone, and then make it easy to be followed, to share openly. The leader must support the first followers as equals, not as subordinates.… Read More . . . “Followers Make Movements”
Some successful cohousing meal programs require participation by either cooking, preparing, or cleaning once every few weeks. (No one is required to eat.) But other communities that require participation in meal support still have meals infrequently.
A successful program averages 3-4 meals a week and their success is often attributed to organization and leadership. This statement is typical of those programs:
We have a “meals boss” role, the Scheduler. Meals usually a major reason for… Read More . . . “Cohousing Meal Programs and Leadership”
In a workshop I conducted last Sunday, one of the participants asked, “How do you encourage self-organizationSelf-organization, sometimes called spontaneous order, is a ...?” By some miracle, probably related to my being on every mailing list on anything related to sociocracy and governance, I received in my mailbox a link to an article on the Interaction Institute for Social Change. You guessed it on Tips for Encouraging Self-Organization by Curtis Ogden.
After some editing and… Read More . . . “Encouraging Self-Organization”
Residential communities customarily do not have board of directors members from outside the organization. Corporations normally do, but they may not be chosen by their ability to balance expertise. Non-profit organizationsThe Delibrative Democracy Consortium (DDC)u is an alliance o... More and independent schools often choose board members based on their ability to raise money or influence government or foundation decision-makers.
Balanced Expertise
Balanced expertise on the board of directors steers the organization from multiple perspectives.… Read More . . . “Outside Experts on the Board of Directors”
We need to remind ourselves that meetings are not the work. Much work is done in meetings and they can be exhausting, but the focus of a meeting is action. Determining effective actions. Defining desired actions. Evaluating failed actions. Or bemoaning lack of action.
Possible Sources of Confusion
In several contexts lately it has become clear that many of us have drifted into confusing meetings with the work, and even as the substance of organizational… Read More . . . “Meetings Are Not the Work”
Please Join the eMail Discussion Group
The sociocracy email discussion list was started in 2002. The list language is English, but members speak many languages if you have translation questions. We discuss anything related to sociocracy, democracy, and collaborative governance.
This site is a resource on sociocracy and democracy and the ways they support each other. It examines the principles and practices and the ways in which together they could better achieve their objectives. How would things get done in a sociocratic democracy?
How to start a movement?
A fabulous 3-minute video by Derek Sivers on how to start a movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ
The first follower is an underestimated form of leadership in itself… The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.
The leader has to have the courage to stand alone, and then make it easy to be followed, to share openly. The leader must support the first followers as equals, not as subordinates.… Read More . . . “Followers Make Movements”
In a workshop I conducted last Sunday, one of the participants asked, “How do you encourage self-organizationSelf-organization, sometimes called spontaneous order, is a ...?” By some miracle, probably related to my being on every mailing list on anything related to sociocracy and governance, I received in my mailbox a link to an article on the Interaction Institute for Social Change. You guessed it on Tips for Encouraging Self-Organization by Curtis Ogden.
After some editing and… Read More . . . “Encouraging Self-Organization”