Today, I got to attend another workshop on Sociocracy, but this time it was created as an opportunity to ask questions, with a very skilled practitioner. The collective I am a part of, has been working with this model for the last year now and we have really seen what has worked and what hasn’t. We are are all very impressed with what we have achieved thus far. But we are ready now, to discover ways in which we can work even better together and become even more efficient.
As our collective grows, we have struggled at times, with how to keep new members motivated and involved. We have an open meeting every two weeks, where people can come to find out what we are doing and connect with like minded folk. This is often a very emotional meeting, as those who attend are really relieved to find a safe space where they can voice their truths and their experiences.
Connection is so important, but it can sometimes get lost, as we try to move forward with action. With so many projects happening in so many different groups, those of us who are really focused on action, can we sometimes lose track of who wanted to get involved in the different groups/circles we have created. And as it is the active ones who take on the roles, we are so often over run with tasks to do.
For so long we have wanted to remain under the radar, to not draw too much attention to what we are doing, but in doing so we often lose contact with others. Today we decided to create a more public face, for those who wish to get involved, whilst keeping our actions more private.
A website, where we can direct people, so that all the relevant information that they need, in order to help them make a decision about what sort of involvement they wish to have, will be readily available. Leaving us active members, to continue to create our new world.
We also discussed the importance of having a governance agreement, so that we are very clear on what we wish to achieve, on how we will do it and what different roles there will be for those who wish to become involved.
For those interested, they can either become a working member or a supportive member which I think is pretty self explanatory. These roles really need to be clearly defined and there also needs to be an induction process.
As we have grown, we have been subject to certain whispers about the way in which we organize ourselves. This was one of the main reasons we trained in Sociocracy, because we wanted to move away from a hierarchy model and work in a way in which everyone’s voice is heard and allow those who are active to make the decisions. It is up to everyone to decide for themselves, whether or not they want that responsibility.
But even though we have implemented Sociocracy, the whispers continued, which really brought up the subject of power and how other people view it. How they really look at it and how they choose to work with it. For some reason, it is always the same people who are committed and active within our collective.
We are all working towards creating independent infrastructure, but as one of our members so rightly stated, some people want freedom but don’t want the discomfort of moving towards it and they then wish to shoot down those who do.
This is such a true reflection of what is happening right now in the world and it seems in most organizations as well, even in those who are seeking positive change. This mindset really needs to change and hopefully as we continue to learn and grow, to discover what works and what doesn’t, we can help to create a healthy mindset around power and what it really means.