Collaborative organizations develop a wide variety of approaches to creating workplaces that are more democratic and sociocratic. Many other names and rationales are used but they end up in the same place as sociocratic democratic organizations. Freedom. Equality. Harmony. Inclusion. Self-organization.
I sat in on a conference call with the SociocraticConsultingGroup-en last week on forming an organization for sociocracy. I found the discussion to be about the same issues we had several years ago, when Socionet tried to form. It’s the same problem that the NVC organization has had, and that the Austin Belly dance group discussed on the [email protected] list many years ago. The problem of conflicting aims and energies between professionals and enthusiasts.
The… Read More . . . “A Sociocratic Movement?”
Rainbow Community School is a private, independent school serving 42 preschoolers and about 120 students from kindergarten through eighth grade in Asheville, North Carolina. For more than 35 years, we have been a national leader in alternative, holistic and contemplative education.
The essay by Renee Owen, “Educating the Innovation Generation, Part IV, How Can School Create and Innovative Culture” discusses the school’s reasons for using sociocracy (Dynamic Governance).
Citizen Hive is a NGO in Sweden Using Sociocracy
From the Citizen Hive website on sociocratic governance and why the organization uses it:
Citizen Hive uses Sociocracy as our governance system.
What is Sociocracy?
Sociocracy is a holistic approach for inclusive decision-making, efficient governance, and the ongoing evaluation and improvement of your team, project, or organization.
It fosters empowerment and an attitude where people feel encouraged to experiment, fail, and learn.
Other benefits of sociocracy:… Read More . . . “Citizen Hive: Description of Sociocracy”
De School in The Netherlands was founded using the sociocratic organization method under the guidance of Annewiek Reijmer of the global center, the Sociocratisch Centrum.
The school has become famous in Holland because it offers a 50-week school year in order to meet parents needs for childcare as well as education for their children. The children, as young as six, work with the parents, the teacher, and an outside expert to evaluate the student’s progress… Read More . . . “De School, Zandvoort, The Netherlands”
This is a wonderful little book by the CEO of Semco, a corporation in Brazil. His father started the company and in the 1980s passed it along to his rather young son. Semler built a new kind of corporation using “open management” and advocating a “natural” and “democratic” workplace for “industrial citizens.”
Lunch Hour Ideas
In 1984, Semco acquired a Brazilian subsidiary of Hobart and Semler and describes how he began changing the structure of… Read More . . . “Maverick by Ricardo Semler”
Terra Viva is an agribusiness centered in São Paulo, Brazil begin by the Schoenmaker family in 1959 to grow gladiolas. Though not mentioned on their website, Gerard Endenburg consulted with the owner in the 1970s to develop the company using sociocracy. They now have more than a thousand workers and focus on bulbs and plants for flowers and vegetables.
Their website includes a discussion of the company’s philosophy including an organizational chart, but does not… Read More . . . “Terra Viva, São Paulo, Brazil”
Please Join the eMail Discussion Group
The sociocracy email discussion list was started in 2002. The list language is English, but members speak many languages if you have translation questions. We discuss anything related to sociocracy, democracy, and collaborative governance.
This site is a resource on sociocracy and democracy and the ways they support each other. It examines the principles and practices and the ways in which together they could better achieve their objectives. How would things get done in a sociocratic democracy?
De School in The Netherlands was founded using the sociocratic organization method under the guidance of Annewiek Reijmer of the global center, the Sociocratisch Centrum.
The school has become famous in Holland because it offers a 50-week school year in order to meet parents needs for childcare as well as education for their children. The children, as young as six, work with the parents, the teacher, and an outside expert to evaluate the student’s progress… Read More . . . “De School, Zandvoort, The Netherlands”
This is a wonderful little book by the CEO of Semco, a corporation in Brazil. His father started the company and in the 1980s passed it along to his rather young son. Semler built a new kind of corporation using “open management” and advocating a “natural” and “democratic” workplace for “industrial citizens.”
Lunch Hour Ideas
In 1984, Semco acquired a Brazilian subsidiary of Hobart and Semler and describes how he began changing the structure of… Read More . . . “Maverick by Ricardo Semler”