Hello @reef-governance, @reef-facilitation and @reef-recruitment,
Ping @reef-coordination,
>> I see our use of sociocracy going down
I have been a bit worried lately about the fact that I see our use of sociocracy steadily going down. I’d be interested to hear about everybody’s perspective, but what I see includes meetings going over time without requesting consent, not using selection processes, not using role descriptions, unclear conclusions during meetings, lack of clarity of who are the members of the teams, virtually no people in the different teams with a minimum of facilitation training etc.
To be clear: this is my observation, and I don’t think anybody is to blame for it. We’ve been stretched thin and under a lot of pressure, so it is only logical that investing time in learning more about sociocracy is the first thing that goes out of the window.
>> I worry about slow progress and chaos
Most cohousing groups (about 90%) fail, and they all fail for mostly the same reasons, i.e. slow progress and chaos (e.g. documents gone missing, long meetings, unclear decisions, tensions etc). The 10% that do succeed have as the most important challenge … slow progress and chaos.
I’m not saying that this is the case, but my worst fear is that we become one of these groups that is very busy, but that achieves very little. This is a phenomenon that can be observed in many organisations: there’s a lot of work and a lot of processes, but there’s actually not that much value added being produced.
To me, sociocracy is my preferred strategy to reduce chaos to a minimum (my need). We can of course always try something else, but until we have found that, I would really like it if we could adhere to the one tool that is keeping many self-organised groups and cohousings afloat.
>> Bringing in more sociocracy training
Based on my concern about slow progress and chaos, and also the fact that we said in the Blueprint 1.0 that we would invest a lot in learning and training, I would like to propose that we increase our ambition when it comes to sociocracy training.
As a basis for a proposal, I would like to propose something along the following lines:
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We try to combine our sociocracy and facilitation trainings.
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We experiment with creating different levels, each with different levels of ambition in function of how someone participates in The Reef, but with a relatively extensive programme presented to everybody. This could look like something like this:
This is my reasoning:
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Basic: The 3x2 training provides a good insight into the basics of sociocracy. It’s a nice bonding experience. It helps everyone to improve their participation in meetings, because they understand better what the facilitator is trying to do.
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Intermediate: It would be great if all of the Teams’ Coordinators and Facilitators would have a fair understanding of all the tools that sociocracy has to offer. To get there it could be sufficient to read the chapter on facilitation in “Many Voices One Song”, and to participate as a “player” in a couple of the “advanced” facilitation trainings (5x2).
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Advanced: I think it will be necessary for people who will be facilitating The Reef’s plenary to have a very good understanding of facilitation challenges (drama triangle, topic management etc) and also of NVC. I personally feel safer when I know that the person who is facilitating will be in control when things get a bit crazy.
>> Taking this one step further
I’d be happy to get your thoughts on this, and even happier if there would be one or two people who would be willing to form a quick helping circle to work out a possible training plan in a bit more detail.
What say you?
