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Endenburg and the origins of sociocracy
Where did sociocracy begin? The term was first coined in 1851 by French philosopher Auguste Comte,[ to mean “the rule of the associates.” Kees Boeke, a Quaker school founder in the Netherlands, wrote about sociocracy, “Democracy as it might be,” in a booklet in 1945 after applying the principles of sociocracy in his school. However, one of Boeke’s students, Gerard Endenburg (1933-) is the founder of the Sociocratic Circle Method, what is largely referred to as sociocracy today. He formalized principles of sociocracy to be widely applicable to all kinds of organizations.
Gerard Endenburg
Born in 1933 in the Netherlands, Gerard was influenced in his early life by his activist parents who advocated for political reform. He saw alternative methods from an early age as he started to attend Kees Boeke’s Children’s Community Workshop (De Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap) school during World War II. The school was founded on principles of participatory decision-making by consensus between students and teachers, who were treated with equal respect and given equal voice (the students as “workers” and teachers as “coworkers.”) The students at Werkplaats were given autonomy in completing their lessons on their own timelines as well as working together to manage their own classrooms. Endenburg took the principles from this school and later formulated his own vision of sociocratically run families, schools, and companies in the book Sociocracy: The Organization Of Decision Making.
Endenburg focused on electrical engineering in college. He learned about cybernetics during his compulsory military service where he worked with radar. The concept of feedback loops leading to self-correcting systems was deeply influential in his later formulation of sociocracy. He then worked for Philips Electronics where he invented a flat speaker still used in small electronics such as cell phones. His father invited him to take over a small failing electronics firm with the challenge to apply his philosophy of management in practice.
Endenburg was able to turn the company from loss to profit in a year and eventually took over as general manager of the family company Endenburg Electrotechniek, the family business which at the time was engaged in building large scale electrical panel systems for ships, large buildings, and nuclear reactors. The company is still engaged in electrical systems, consultancy, and engineering. As of 2012, the company was still using sociocratic governance.
“I know how to steer power in mechanical and electrical systems…how can I steer power in human systems?” – Gerard Endenburg
Feedback loops and systems thinking in management
Endenburg was inspired by his study of cybernetics to incorporate feedback loops into the human systems he created. Feedback loops are built into sociocracy at every level. An example of a feedback loop is the scenario of someone steering a boat. As the boat moves, it sometimes deviates from the intended course. The person steering corrects the motion by taking in the information that the boat is off course and acting accordingly. Likewise, an organization using sociocracy can “steer” more effectively by setting a concrete mission and aims and taking in feedback about how they are being accomplished.
Gerard learned to think of organizations as dynamic systems, where one small action can affect an entirely different area. He applied the principles of cybernetics feedback loops and systems thinking to his management philosophy. “I know how to steer power in mechanical and electrical systems…how can I steer power in human systems?” he wondered. (Buck 2003) Gerard applied what he knew about mechanical and electronic systems to create human systems that would function well, “steering” an organization towards success with feedback all along the way through interconnected independently self-governing functional units. Endenburg Electrotechniek was his laboratory for implementing human systems, starting off with empowering workers to give feedback and make decisions about their work. This was a pioneering step in experimenting with self-management.
The four principles of the Sociocratic Circle Method
Endenburg eventually formalized four principles of Sociocratic Circle Method: consent, circles, double linking, and elections to roles by consent.
Consent decisions– the principle of paramount objections
Endenburg struggled to think of a way for workers and managers to make decisions fairly and efficiently together. He saw drawbacks in a majority vote, where the minority is not included in the final decision. Gerard was inspired by the consensus decision-making in the Werkplaats school but also knew that the Quaker “sense of the meeting” relies on having deep relationships and a community with shared values. He went on a personal retreat, considering cybernetic and engineering principles and what they had to say about making decisions.
From “We the People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy:”
“He struggled for the entire three weeks of his retreat and finally gave up, concluding that there was no answer. He packed his bags and started loading up his car, and then the answer hit him: Consent! In the technical sciences, all elements of an operational system work together by consent, the absence of paramount objections. If one part of a system is stressed to the point of breaking down, a paramount objection, the system does not work. All parts must be able to function for the entire system to function. Endenburg had defined his first governing principle: consent governs decision making…”
In consent decision-making, one must make a reasoned argument for objections to a proposal. All objections are integrated into the proposal to improve it until everyone can consent to the proposal moving forward.
Circles as self-governing groups
To solve the problems inherent in a top-down structure, Gerard developed a governance structure based on small groups formed into self-governing circles. Each circle has an arena of responsibility and the members decide policies about how work gets done by consent. This way, the people most affected by the decisions about work are involved in the decisions, both managers and workers together.
Double linking ensures feedback loops
How can you connect these circles in an organization that runs effectively and smoothly? And how can you implement decisions that affect a larger number of people in a large organization? Endenburg developed the principle of double-linking to solve these problems.
Each circle has a leader, who carries information “down” the organization from the next higher circle, and a delegate, who carries information “up” the organization by representing the interests of the circle. This structure forms an interconnected system that includes the entire organization, ensuring feedback from all areas.
Selections to roles by consent
Endenburg found that people were reluctant to give feedback about others’ capabilities and performance in person. He thought it would be most effective to have the person concerned involved in a conversation about their role, rather than managers making decisions without the person even present. He came up with the process of selecting people into roles by consent of the group, with everyone in a circle presenting qualifications and participating in the process.
Putting sociocracy to the test
Endenburg Electrotechniek experienced success in the initial years of implementing sociocracy. But sociocracy was only really put to the test during a crisis. In 1976, the Dutch shipping industry was severely hampered by competition from Japan. The company management called for layoffs in the shipbuilding department. However, a machinist came up with an idea to use the company’s strategic reserve to train the shipyard workers in marketing, with the goal of increasing sales in other areas. The machinist was selected to represent this proposal up the organizational circles all the way to the board.
After much-heated discussion and even some turnover on the board, they adopted an adapted version of his proposal. The new business from the marketing calls brought in enough revenue to remove the need for layoffs. The sociocratic method had withstood a heavy blow, demonstrating flexibility and innovation. The experience proved that creative ideas can come from anywhere in an organization.
The impact Endenburg has made in the world
Since he retired from Endenburg Electrotechniek in 1995, Gerard became a professor in the school of business at the University of Maastricht. He founded the Sociocratisch Centrum in the Netherlands and continues to consult and teach sociocracy. His work promoting sociocracy has led to dozens if not hundreds of organizations from schools to corporations using sociocracy worldwide. The sociocratic circle method also heavily influenced Holacracy and Sociocracy 3.0. Gerard Endenburg has left an indelible mark on the world with his ideas.
References
Boeke, Kees (1945) “Sociocracy: Democracy as it Might Be” as edited by Beatrice C. Boeke.
Buck, John and Villines, Sharon (2007) We the People, Consenting to a Deeper Democracy
Buck, John (2003) “Employee Engagement in Sociocratic versus Conventional Organizations.” Master’s thesis. Geroge Washington University.
Gerard Endenburg: The Sociocratic Circle-Organization Method
Resource links
SoFA’s sociocratic organization map
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