Governance

At the Junction Village Community Land Trust, we use sociocracy as our model of governance to optimize collective intelligence for long-term organizational resilience.

Sociocracy

Sociocracy is a governance structure that emphasizes equality and collaborative decision-making. It uses consent-based processes and structured feedback loops to ensure all voices are heard and decisions reflect the needs of the group.

Sociocracy Circles

In sociocratic organizations, authority is not hierarchical (a top-down approach), but instead distributed more evenly across small, self-organizing teams called "circles." Each circle has a particular defined aim (the circle's purpose), as well as a particular domain (what the circle has authority over, and can make decisions about). This kind of structure is based on individual and group autonomy, and recognizes that the people working within a given team can make decisions for themselves about the activities of that team.

Within each circle, members are assigned particular circle roles (including Leader, Facilitator, Delegate, and Secretary). There are also members who take on "linking roles" in all circles, connecting them to other related circles. This allows for better information flow between circles, which in turn allows for more informed decision-making.

Decentralized Authority

All operational circles are connected to the main "parent circle," or the General Circle, which includes the Board of Directors. All circles report to the General Circle, and the Leaders from each are full members of this parent circle, meaning that along with the Board of Directors, they have voting powers (based on consent) within it. The General Circle therefore serves as a high-level governance circle, overseeing the organization's overall direction, mission, and resources, but with a focus on collaboration and consent rather than top-down decision-making.

The Board's role is to ensure that the organization's activities align with its mission, support the work of operational circles, and monitor progress, while also engaging in decision-making processes with consent from other stakeholders and groups within the organization.

In addition to the General Circle, the JVCLT currently has six operational Circles: Governance, Finance, Fundraising, Acquisitions, Storytelling, and Advocacy. To learn more about the aims and domains of each of these Circles, or if you are interested in joining one (or more!), check out our "Get Involved" page, or send us an email at admin@junctionvillageclt.org.

Consent Decision-Making

“Consent doesn’t mean everyone has to love the proposal; it means that it’s ‘good enough for now’ and ‘safe enough to try’ …based on whether a proposal aligns with the group’s aim”

~ Ted Rau’s Sociocracy Primer

Sociocracy uses consent for making decisions. While consensus decision-making is based on attaining unanimous agreement in a group, consent decision-making means seeking to avoid any reasoned objections to the decision in order to move forward with it. Consent decision-making often takes less time than consensus-based structures, because it does not necessarily require full agreement from everyone in the circle—instead, the goal is to find a path forward that does not harm or disadvantage anyone, and that is in alignment with the circle's aims and values.

Consent decision-making is made possible in sociocracy because of small circle sizes. Generally circles consist of a maximum of around 6-8 full members (or consenting members) to ensure that no one's opinion is overlooked, and no voice goes unheard. If a given circle begins to grow too large to allow for all members to contribute fully to decision making-processes, it is recommended that one or more sub-circles be formed.

In sociocracy, there is consent for a proposal or policy decision when there are no reasonable objections to the proposal. Members give consent when the proposal is within their “range of tolerance,” which means everything that is not necessarily their preference, but also not something they fully object to relative to the aims of the group. Consent is therefore given when a proposal is considered “good enough for now, safe enough to try” for a limited time before review at an agreed date.

Addressing Objections & Disagreements

Decision-making in sociocracy uses “rounds,” where each person in the group is given the opportunity to voice their opinions. An objection may be brought forward by any member of the group if they believe the proposal will prevent the circle or organization from achieving its aims, or if they find it is not in alignment with the group's mission, vision, or values. Therefore, in sociocracy, objections are not seen as an obstacle or an issue to be overcome, but rather as an opportunity for generative discussion and creative problem solving that can help improve the proposal.

“Objections are seen as a positive force… By addressing objections, the group improves its decisions and stays aligned with its shared goals.”

~ Ted Rau's Sociocracy Primer

If the circle is still unable to improve the proposal to satisfy the objection(s) that any members may have, a Resolution Group of members with diverse perspectives (different levels of agreement/disagreement) may be formed to work on the proposal separately in order to improve it further.

Sociocracy is a fairly complex and multi-layered governance structure. JVCLT board members and volunteers have undergone extensive sociocracy training led by Glenda Mattinson, who is an internationally certified trainer in Nonviolent Communication (or Compassionate Communication) and has over 25 years of experience training organizations to collaborate effectively. All new volunteers and members will also receive sociocracy training when joining the JVCLT team.

To learn more about sociocratic governance and decision-making processes, check out our Resources page, or visit Sociocracy for All.