Learning & practising Sociocracy

Thanks for the invite. From the reading, workshoping I've done and small attempts to begin using the methods it seems like an invaluable piece of governance technology. It has certain caused me to observe and reflect on how the organisations I belong to go about their business - and they are pretty awful! My initial thoughts have been that sociocracy is an invitation - like cooperation - to unlearn a lot of dominant organisational decision-making behaviour that we think is natural: such as deference to authority/hierarchy/leadership and win/lose "debates" around problems/decisions. Sociocracy offers, it seems to me, not just different organisational structure but different techniques for developing shared understanding about a problem (tension) and discovery of a shared way forward both strategically and operationally. It ought to be a natural fit with cooperation.

Very nice - that's a great way to understand Sociocracy - as an invitation to enquire how things are done and open up a possibility of doing them differently.

yes please. I had sociocracy3.0 described to me by a soc3 trainer and it sounded really useful. people and relations based. the system being the people participating and not a preconceived set up (like old skool sociocracy). But I havnt managed to get thru the online resources, boring, abstruse, prescriptive. Something got lost writing it down. I couldnt advise coops to wade thru it. So yes we need to learn about it and maybe do a One Minute Soc3 or Soc3 for Dummies.

4 minute intro @bobcan https://youtu.be/l3zFWpntExg

That's why I really like the writing of Jennifer Rau. I was really put off when I first came across Sociocracy a few years ago, by the abstruse language, but she makes it all so crystal clear!

ok mark simmonds has guven me a YouTube 4min video hesays is also concise. i have read some Rau yes it's good.im just holding inmy headthe image ofa worker coop in chaos and thinking how do we get them as in dividuals to accept simple 'common sense' steps towards order using sociocracy.

We're definitely not in chaos at Unicorn so it's not quite the same, but so far people are responding really well to some of the small common sense steps, e.g. being intentional about what you're bringing to a meeting and the desired outcome of bringing it. We waste loads of meeting hours going round the houses with stuff, so being a little more focused on whether something is for information (which means there's no open invite to talk about it randomly), for exploration (actively seeking some ideas, opinions, feedback) or for decision is pretty exciting. Also talking in rounds is really liberating - difficult for some admittedly, but already making a difference to participation and enthusiasm.

Certainly not thinking about Unicorn and chaos. Thinking of some smaller worker coops where individuals benefit from disrupting structured communication (to preserve their freedom of action). And attack/undermine attempts to agree 'rules'. Need a starting point which is such common sense they cant kill it at the start.

It sounds like there is energy for this - thanks for initiating it Kate. I feel a mixture of excited - that people are so open. And trepidation - because I am also very busy, and wouldn't really want to get involved in anything else until after the summer.

A simple participative format, if this does go ahead, would be to spend a small amount of time (10 mins?) sharing what people know about the practice of Sociocracy. Then to spend the bulk of the time practising - ie doing some consent decision-making, shaping proposals etc. Followed by a brief reflection (10 minutes) on what people experienced. Top and tailed by a check-in/check-out 75-90 minutes might work well?

Personally I would prefer this to more 'abstract' discussions about what structures might look like, how Sociocracy might be implemented, etc but others might have different views? If people want that it could be a useful spin-off later on?

I find it far more useful to deal with real world scenarios rather than abstract because it forces us to understand the real world practices/culture that make or break theoretical approaches. A pre-designed theoretical model based on an ideal world (and often even the governing document) can be circumvented or sacrificed by a co-op's members if it doesn't fit with their day to day reality. it's one of the reasons why co-op start-ups sometimes change radically the week after they start trading. But happy to talk abstract if that is what the bulk of the group want