What we've learned about group decisions

p.s. if you like the article, it would be great if you could share it through your networks :)

@richarddbartlett i got a 404 on that link xx

Thanks @mixirving fixed now. Whoooops

Check out the Group Works deck for lots of further wisdom on this subject: http://groupworksdeck.org/

(I tried to post it as a link at the article location but was unable to do so without a Twitter log-in.)

Thanks for this Richard. We're feeling hungry for more info on how to best use Loomio in our coop governance process and our wider operations.

Are there any other docs you'd recommend?

One interesting note is that not everyone on our team had experience with consensus process and similar collaborative decision making processes. Many of these concepts got "smuggled" into our cutlure through Loomio, but it became evident that we needed to rewind a bit and build a shared understanding of what "blocks" and such were about in order to effectively adopt the approach.

Any docs that outlined some of this "what you should know as you start with loomio" would be great. And I'd be happy to help as well!

Great question @ethanwinn.

At the moment the information is a bit scattered, e.g. check out the Help page, and some of the case studies on the Press page. These two stories that @alanna wrote might give you some insight too.

We're about to start a project where we pull that kind of information into an easy accessible format. (I'm hoping @hannahsalmon and @chelsearobinson will be involved in that.)

We're learning that the technical aspect of using Loomio is pretty easy, but the cultural aspect is very complex and not so obvious! It would be great if you could share some of your questions, so we can develop some material together that could help a lot of people :)

I guess off the top of my head, the standard advice I give to any group that wants to operate in a collective/non-hierarchical/cooperative/collaborative/bossless/etc way, is to start with the Purpose. Figure out together why exactly you exist, find a statement that you can all agree to and get excited about.

For instance, the Loomio team spent a long time to develop a purpose statement that really represents what we're doing, and accommodates for all the different perspectives in the group: "to create a world where its easy for anyone, anywhere to participate in decisions that affect them." Now we have the purpose explicitly stated, it is our guiding light that we can all return to in any difficult decision.

With the purpose agreed, and some idea of the principles that guide your behaviour as your pursue that aim, then you can set priorities for your immediate work focus. From the priorities, you can start grouping the work into different areas held by different teams, and give them a mandate to make decisions, using their own discretion to judge how much input to seek from the rest of the group. It's easy for me to write that run-on sentence about how we operate, but I know it covers up a huge amount of detail - there is a lot of finesse in each of those steps!

Keep asking questions and I'll try to say something useful :)

Here is an interesting set of reflections from one loomio group who are focussed on learning about the way they use loomio :)

Discussions
Loomio is one tool in your toolbox for communications. Ask yourself, what is the message? Who is the intended audience? What’s the best channel for this?
Clarify to yourself: Why am I seeking input on this decision? What would be the ideal kind of participation, and the outcome I’m ideally hoping for?
Be honest about constraints. If the decision is one that needs to be made by a certain person or small group, frame wider participation as input and consultation. Some discussions are real group decisions, others result in recommendations, but differentiating these is important.
Challenge yourself to be as inclusive and open as possible. Some discussions need to be behind closed doors, but others can be opened up. To reach the goal of collaborative culture, everyone needs to work on moving in that direction when possible.
Discuss decisions that really matter, and see it all the way through. If a discussion fizzles out, it means either the topic wasn’t very important, or the real decision is being made elsewhere.
It’s OK to use Loomio as a way to solicit feedback or just discuss a topic, even if you’re not sure it will lead to a specific decision. It’s great for transparency, and often surfaces important issues that can lead to decisions after all.
Give all the background information someone might need to meaningfully participate. Frame discussions in an open way, not jumping to solutions. Leave space for generative thinking at the beginning. Remember that as a leader you have a strong voice - refrain from sharing your own opinion until others have had a chance to give input.

Proposals
Make sure proposals are specific, so that if people agree or disagree they know what that means. Don’t try to include multiple things in the same proposal, because someone might agree to one part but not another. You can have sequential proposals under the same discussion topic.
Use proposals to get engagement and clarify the issue, even if the solution might not be apparent yet. Taking a stab and proposing something inspires people to articulate why exactly they disagree, which often leads to another proposal that’s more successful. A proposal failing is not a bad thing, it’s a normal step in the process. And sometimes you might be surprised by getting quick consensus on something you thought was going to be complicated!
Use blocks sparingly. They can be very powerful, so save them for when they are absolutely needed. Each group can define for themselves what they mean in their context, but traditionally it’s something so serious that you’d consider leaving the group if it went ahead.
Set proposal deadlines consciously (eg, not ending on weekends). A very long proposal time can signal the expectation of deeper conversation and giving people time to change their minds, but sometimes people won’t participate until the last minute anyway. You can also set a shorter time and then extend before the closing date if needed.
Not everyone needs to participate in everything. There’s power in simply knowing that your voice would be heard if you wanted to raise it. You can abstain and say “I trust the rest of the group to make a good decision on this.”

Facilitation
Model behaviour that others can learn to emulate, to be more inclusive and engaging, and help decisions progress constructively:
“@person that could be a good idea, why don’t you raise a proposal so we can see if the rest of the group agrees?”
“We haven’t heard from @person and @person… what are your thoughts?”
“It seems we might be getting off topic here. Should we start another Loomio discussion about that and bring this back to the original topic?”
Be aware of “Bike Shedding” - Parkinson's law of triviality. It’s very common for groups to spend the most time on the least important topics, because they are the easiest things to have opinions about.
If someone is expressing distress, not participating constructively, or is in a minority opinion and seems to care strongly about the topic, it’s a good indication that a face to face or phone conversation might be helpful. Supporting in the background so online discussions can be productive is a normal part of the process. Loomio can often help identify where this energy is most needed in the team.
When appropriate, instead of raising a discussion or proposal yourself, quietly shouldertap someone else and support them to facilitate, to share a sense of leadership. Team members feeling empowered to start their own discussions is a sign of a democratic culture.

I've gathered a bunch of useful tips into a google doc, if anyone would like to add to it.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H0-u74tO44D0dbJQKzFgNATPeylPfTSL12oHqpmfkHw/edit?usp=sharing

I've started sending this around to some people personally, and I'd love for it to be on our website somewhere to make it easier to share soon. @hannahsalmon

Yes @alanna! This is something that we will be working on very soon - I feel it in me bones! Possibly @chelsearobinson and myself :)