Language: Español
Sociocracy combines consent decision-making, a decentralized system of authority and intentional processes to improve our decisions and processes over time into a governance system that supports effective and efficient process while increasing connection, listening and co-creation among members.
Sociocracy is used in businesses, communities, nonprofits, cooperatives, grassroots groups and in education.
Books from Sociocracy for All
Many Voices One Song
The practical sociocracy handbook written by the co-founders of Sociocracy For All. 300 pages full of real-life support!
Let’s Decide Together
The definitive guidebook for practicing sociocracy with children. Children can decide with sociocracy too!
Sociocracy topics
More: Selection process | Writing proposals | Implementation
Making group decisions: consent
Consent is the default decision-making method in sociocracy. In consent, a decision is made when no circle member has an objection. Every person will consent if they can accept the proposal, and object if the proposal has negative implications with respect to the circle’s shared aim.
A group moves to consent in the consent process: presenting the proposal and clarifying questions, quick reactions and a round of consent/objections.
Different from blocking a proposal in consensus decision-making, objections are welcomed as valuable information and they can be integrated by modifying the proposal, its term or its measurements.
Circles and roles: who decides what?
Decisions are made in circles, a defined team of people working together towards their circle’s aim. Circle members make collective policy decisions in their domain and they define operational roles to empower individuals to take on responsibility and circle roles to self-manage their circle.
Circles are connected through parent circle/sub-circle relationships of nested domains, leading to a system where everything can be decided locally in the system, without centralizing power at the center. To make sure two circles are connected, we double-link them with two people as members in both circles.
Meetings with sociocracy
Sociocratic meetings are inclusive and efficient with a clear format:
- Opening: check-in and ADMIN
- Content of the meeting
- Consent to agenda
- Agenda items
- Review
- Check-out (meeting evaluation)
Facilitation is a focus of sociocracy. Rounds – the practice of speaking one by one – are commonly used in meetings to keep equivalence and focus. Rounds also make it easy to run virtual meetings in video calls.
Performance
All sociocratic processes are built on the basic idea of continuous improvement. Feedback is a way to improve what we do, both by creating feedback-rich organizations, a commitment to interpersonal feedback and formal, peer-oriented performance reviews. Other practices are: meeting evaluations in meetings, reviews for all policy decisions and for role selections.
Leadership in sociocracy is peer-oriented and based on accountability to own commitments and to the circle. Many people also combine sociocracy with restorative justice or Nonviolent Communication to align their practice with their values and to improve their effectiveness and communication.
More concepts
Selection process
A sociocratic circle chooses together who will fill an operational or circle role. The most common process to choose that person is the selection process with nominations, change round and consent.
More concepts
See it done
Cheatsheet
Writing proposals together
Policy proposals are always approved by a circle, but they can even be written together using the process of picture forming and proposal shaping.
More concepts
See it done
Implementation
How hard or easy it is to implement sociocracy in your organization highly depends on your size, culture, current set-up and commitment.
One distinction you need to know. While training talks about sociocracy, an implementation changes the power structure of the organization.
- Training is about knowledge of how sociocracy works in general, potentially with practice on examples.
- Implementation is the application of sociocracy to a specific organization
Do you need a consultant to implement sociocracy? It depends!
- SoFA supports “self-implementations” without external help, for example through organizational membership with groups of peer support and discounts on training.
- But we also offer coaching and consulting for any desired level of hand-holding through the process. The help of a consultant is only useful when you already know that you want to implement and all decision-makers are on board – see the typical steps to get there!
More sociocracy resources: articles and videos
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Blue Scorcher: A bakery worker cooperative in the US sociocracy case study
Language: EspañolThis case study is helpful if you: are part of a worker coop in any sector or would like to see a tried and tested, established implementation of sociocracy. […]
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The Legal Documentation of Sociocracy
Language: Español The Three Essential Documents To start a legal entity using sociocracy, it is essential to understand legal documentation. In creating an organization there are three foundational and inseparable […]
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Sociocracy: The Worker Co-op Operating System
Language: EspañolSociocracy: The Worker Co-op Operating System (By John McNamara. Originally posted on workersparadise.) Over the last couple of years, I have had the incredible opportunity to work with Sociocracy For […]
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On rounds in sociocracy
Speaking in rounds is an essential tool of sociocracy. Rounds promote equivalence and every voice being heard.
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How to Survive Group Projects
Do you dread group projects? Learn how using sociocracy can create joyful collaboration and efficient decision making.
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Sharing Results from the Sociocracy in Schools Erasmus Project
Werner Kratchowil and Martina Paone
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Sociocracia en la Nueva Era (Diego Cuadra)
Diego Cuadra. Estamos viviendo tiempos extraordinarios, tiempos de grandes cambios. Muchas tradiciones y pueblos, Hindúes, Incas, Mayas, Mapuches, muchos pueblos nativos americanos, Judíos y también está escrito en la Biblia, han hablado durante siglos del término de un gran ciclo y el inicio de otro de mayor armonía y paz. Hoy en tiempos de Cornonavirus…
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Selection process
Language: Español In this article: What is the selection process?How is the sociocratic selection process different?Steps in a sociocratic electionUsing the selection process for other decisions than rolesFrequently asked questions […]
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CollectiveVoice: A Tool Supporting Governance Transitions for Open Collective Communities
Val Elefante & Nick Vincent | Sep 28th, 16:00-16:40 UTC.
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A Journey Across India to Unleash Everyone’s Potential
Gnanasekar Dhanapal