ARTICLE: Sociocracy
What is sociocracy?
If you value self-organisation and equality, sociocracy may be a good choice for you. It is a model through which you can design the operation of an organisation at different levels and create its structure with the support of teamwork tools.
How do I interpret self-organisation? It is a set of practices and skills that enable a team to choose the way of working that best enables it to fulfil its purpose.
How do I interpret equality? It is a conscious inclusion of diverse voices in dialogue and paying attention to structural inequalities and their consequences.
How did sociocracy come about?
The model developed gradually. In the beginning, different groups tried out specific practices that suited their needs. In the 1930s, for example, the Dutch Quaker School developed a set of inclusive decision-making principles. However, it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that an alumnus of this school, an engineer called Gerard Endenburg, developed the Sociocratic Circle-Organisation Method (SCM). This led to the development of the first description of a sociocracy model, where thinking of the organisation as a living system (partly autonomous and dependent on the environment) and the use of the cybernetic idea of feedback loops, through which the system can learn new things, played an important role.
Sociocracy based on SCM inspired Sharon Villines and John Buck to write We the People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy. John Buck was a co-founder of the non-profit organisation Sociocracy for All (co-founded with him by Jerry Koch-Gonzales and Ted Rau), which promotes education in this field.
What does it look like in practice?
Sociocracy is based on using consent in decision making by teams (circles) that define their objectives (what they want to achieve/what they are doing) and their domains (what they are responsible for). The circles are connected according to a hierarchy of aims. Where there is a connection between the circles, they are double-linked with a leader and a representative. This ensures the flow of information, the alignment of the circles’ aims and the possibility of learning.
How are decisions made?
In sociocracy, decisions are made by consent, which means that a solution to which nobody objects is selected. Participants of this process are encouraged to think not only about their own preferences, but also about the solutions they can accept. If an objection is raised, it should concern any non-compliances with the aim of the project, the circle or the entire organisation. Decision-making involves responding to an objection formulated in this way by providing missing information and/or modifying the proposal, or abandoning it. The principle of sociocracy is to make decisions that are good enough to go and safe enough to try. It is worth remembering that a decision not made also has a financial and non-financial cost. Decisions are made in circles, which are simultaneously responsible for identifying needs within the organisation.
How are roles assigned within a circle?
Roles are assigned through nominations by members of the circle. In addition to the leader, who ensures that the direction of the work and the team dynamics are maintained, there is also a representative, who acts as the second voice of the group to the other circles, a facilitator, who leads the meetings and sets the agenda with the leader, and a secretary, who prepares minutes and a record of tasks and topics (backlog).
How are meetings organised?
Meetings are led by a facilitator, and the secretary writes minutes. Again, consent is required – the meetings begin by asking if whether everyone agrees to a particular agenda and time allocation for different topics. The discussion takes place in rounds. People speak one after the other in a structured order that allows all voices to be heard and the potential of diversity to be realised. The sociocratic agenda is divided into parts, i.e. exploring, reporting and deciding, which facilitates the discussion and the order of the stages.
What does the learning cycle look like?
- At the level of meetings: each meeting is summarised in terms of process, relations and content.
- At the level of roles: at the end of their term, feedback can be requested.
- At the level of the circles and the organisation: projects and rules of cooperation are periodically evaluated.
Why might sociocracy be a good option for cultural institutions?
- It promotes diversity. Sociocracy teaches how to build teams based on a wide range of skills and experiences. Roles are rotated so that people can take on different roles and thus utilise different skills. Individuals are nominated by the team; this builds trust and creates a sense of cohesion.
- It enables learning. Development is an important motivator for people working in the arts so giving them the opportunity to shape the way they do things and have an impact on the organisation is likely to encourage them to stay longer.
- It is socially innovative. In culture, profit is not as important a goal as fulfilling a public mission. As a result, organisations working in this field can foster social innovation, develop progressive and often risky ways of thinking and projects that require a suitable framework. Sociocracy offers both stability and flexibility.
- It teaches self-organisation. In culture, public mission and the teaching of systemic and critical thinking are essential, while at the same time structures that stiffen the way things are done are a major problem. The most popular model is still the hierarchy of roles and the top-down delegation of responsibility, whereas sociocracy supports the dispersion of power and responsibility.
- It offers dynamic working models. The public sector has complex relationships with other actors in the political and social system – and this requires flexibility and efficiency. Sociocracy makes it possible to respond to changing cultural work contexts. It enables the creation of an intersectional team based on transparent rules and the development of practices to support its growth within the organisation.
- It enables the building of communities. A major problem of our times is the transformation of social bonds as a result of individualistic and virtual ways of operating. Cultural organisations often serve as a platform for other groups or inspire the practice of various forms of communitarianism. Sociocracy offers a model in which each person’s voice is acknowledged and individual groups can design their own ways of working while learning to be more accountable to each other.
I referred to a book by Jerry Koch-Gonzales and Ted J. Rau, Many Voices One Song: Shared Power with Sociocracy (2017) as sources for this text. I also used the materials available on the Sociocracy for All website.
I would also like to thank Paulina Koperska for her valuable comments.