It was a great opportunity to attend and upgrade and learn a workshop on “Adopt Sociocracy” from The Sociocracy group. This is a tool for leaders to move their organisations towards dynamic governance. It is about making Responsive, Effective and Adaptive Organizations. All this is possible; Creativity, emergent decision-making, everyone collaborating – by adding sociocracy.
Principles of Sociocracy:
Consent: Each policy decision (in which we make or change the rules by which we play) is made by Consent.
Circles: A sociocratic organization is made up of Circles (aka “Parliaments”). Each circle defines its policy (and some policies which apply to other circles reporting to it) by Consent, and uses other decision making methods as appropriate to its operational work. Each circle is organized around delivering a specific type of value (“aim”) to specific clients (inside or outside the organization).
Feedback (Double linking): We must use feedback processes everywhere in our work and especially in power structure of the organization. The operational leader role provides guidance and prioritization from the higher circle to one below it, especially during normal operations. Elected representative role provides feedback and guidance from the lower circle to the one it reports to. While the representatives may not have any operational responsibilities in the higher of their two circles, they are full members of both circles for the purpose of any consent decision making.
Election: Circle members are selected to handle roles and responsibilities by consent.
Seven parts of Sociocracy
- Proposal Forming: Any member can initiate a proposal
- Consent decision making: All members participates in decision making
- Selecting people for roles: Members choose people for specific roles based on responsibilities and qualifications
- Role improvement review: All members give feedback on what’s working well and what may need improvement
- Circles and double links: self-organized & Semi- autonomous “Circles”
- Vision, Mission, Aims: Objectives of each of the circles for their specific focus
- Feedback loops: Feedback travels up and down and across the organization
Benefits of Sociocracy
- Maximizes effectiveness and reduces tensions around power
- Promotes transparency and accountability
- Creates more adaptive organizations
- Increases worker happiness / commitment / retention
- Decreases the number of meetings and heightens productivity
- Makes meetings shorter and more effective
- Fosters group ingenuity for Problem solving, Creativity and Innovation
- Streamlines decision-making
- Makes clients happier
- Improves profits
- Improves company safety records
- Listening ability
- Unity and team work
- Understanding of others point of view
- Ideas creation
