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Sociocracy workshop in Amherst
14/09/2024 @ 09:00 – 13:00 EDT
In-person beginner + advanced workshop
About this event
Sociocracy gives structure to how to collaborate together toward a shared vision. This workshop is a great introduction to the participative decision-making structure for the 21st century!
Sociocracy is the groundbreaking decision-making method transforming how organizations collaborate and function. In this all-day event, we will delve into the principles and practices of sociocracy, equipping you with the knowledge and skills to revolutionize decision-making within your team.
Sociocracy is a transformative approach that empowers individuals and groups to make better decisions, enhance communication, and foster a sense of ownership and accountability. Attending this workshop will give you valuable insights into the core principles that underpin sociocracy. Discover its potential to revolutionize your community and group dynamics.
We offer two parallel tracks: one for beginners and one for more advanced learners:
Beginner track
This track is best for people who have very little experience with sociocracy.
An overview of the most important parts of sociocracy:
- One of the fundamental aspects of sociocracy is consent decision-making. Unlike traditional methods that rely on majority votes or top-down authority, sociocracy ensures that every voice is heard and considered. Through a series of engaging activities and discussions, you will learn how to facilitate consent decision-making processes.
- Another key principle of sociocracy is decentralized power. By distributing authority and responsibility throughout the organization, sociocracy fosters a sense of autonomy and ownership among team members. You will explore practical strategies for implementing decentralized power structures, enabling your team to operate with increased effectiveness, resilience, and creativity.
- Sociocracy also offers techniques for improving meetings. Say goodbye to long, unproductive meetings that drain your team’s energy and time. We will show the meeting format that you can use for effective and inclusive meetings.
By the end of this workshop, you will walk away with a solid understanding of how sociocracy works in a community and what its benefits are.
This track will be taught by Jerry Koch-Gonzalez.
Advanced track
This track requires basic familiarity with sociocracy: structure, meeting format and consent process ready to practice.
We will focus on the facilitation of difficult situations – with objections, emotional situations or difficult processes.
- Objections – what can we do in the case of an objection? What steps do we take and what options do we have?
- What if the meeting steers off track, when people criticize my facilitation or the agenda? What if we don’t even agree on what we should talk about?
- How can we plan agendas that make meetings smooth and productive?
- How can we draft a proposal together so all perspectives are heard and considered from the get-go?
We will work with lots of demos, small-group exercises with direct support and reflection. The main topics will be:
- Objections
- Agendas
- Picture forming and proposal shaping
This track will be taught by Ted Rau.
We invite you to bring a home lunch; we will provide snacks. After the workshops, we hope you can stick around for social networking time.
Schedule
- 8:45 am: Gather
- 9:00 am: Beginner track and Advanced track begin
- 1:00 pm: Bring your own lunch and eat together (optional)
- 2:00 pm: Walk the grounds of Chery Hill Cohousing (optional)
I learned a lot and have a great understanding of the Sociocracy process after the beginners’ class. It was engaging and enjoyable. I appreciate the opportunity to work with folks from many backgrounds through the class exercises.. I am looking forward to continuing my sociocracy education and implementing it in my groups!
Tami Gingrow, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Trainers
Our sociocracy basic methods classes are taught by certified sociocracy trainers.
Ted Rau
Ted is an advocate, trainer and consultant for self-governance. His main focus is sociocracy. After his PhD in linguistics and work in Academia, he co-founded Sociocracy For All and spends his days consulting, teaching and writing. Ted identifies as a transgender man; he has 5 children between 10 and 19. A German citizen he, has lived in Massachusetts since 2010. He lives in an intentional community of 70 people and is (co-)author of three books on self-governance, Many Voices One Song (2018) and Who Decides Who Decides (2021), and Collective Power (2023).
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
Jerry has been committed to nonviolent social change all his adult life. He started his career with anti-oppression (especially classism), then became a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication/NVC, facilitation, consensus. In the last 10 years, he has focused on his work in sociocracy. Jerry used to be part of The Sociocracy Consulting Group, and he is co-founder of Sociocracy For All where he now works full time. Jerry was born in Cuba and immigrated to the USA as a child. He has lived in community all of his life, since 1994 in Pioneer Valley Cohousing. Jerry is the co-author of the sociocracy reference manual Many Voices One Song.
I highly recommend this course on consent, objection and facilitation. Ted explains clearly and calmly, the slides are an excellent addition to the book ” many voices, one song” and it’s great to see people from around the world using Sociocracy.
Jackie, Bull City Commons, Durham, NC
Price
No one is turned away for lack of funds. Please contact info@sociocracyforall.org if you need a discount.
Buy your tickets on eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sociocracy-in-amherst-tickets-961240013757
$30
Regular ticket; donations welcome
See also
ELC coaching (4x30min)
$220.00
