Sociocracy

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Sociocracy is a form of organization with which organizations of various sizes - from families, to companies and NGOs to the state - can consistently implement self-organization. In its modern version, it is based on findings from systems theory . Its principles ensure that ignoring tensions is structurally avoided and readjusted in terms of common goals. The members of an organization develop shared responsibility for collective intelligence both for the success of the organization as a whole and for each individual.

etymology

Sociocracy is derived from the Latin and ancient Greek words socius (companion) and kratein (rule). The French philosopher Auguste Comte , who also created the term sociology , coined the word sociocratie in 1851 . It was later used by the American sociologist Lester Frank Ward in a paper he wrote for Penn Monthly in 1881.

Development in the 20th century

Kees Boeke

In the middle of the 20th century, the reform pedagogue and Quaker Kees Boeke, who was inspired by Christian anarchism, updated Ward's ideas and expanded them considerably at his Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap school . Boeke saw sociocracy as a form of government or management that assumes equality between individuals and is based on the principle of consent . In contrast to democracy, this equality is not embodied by the principle of “ one person - one voice ”, but by the principle that a decision can only be made if none of those present has a serious and well-founded objection in terms of the common goals. The decisions get a high level of acceptance and are also supported by the executors as long as they prove to be helpful.

In group decision-making processes, sociocracy gives the majority less and the individual more power than democracy. Therefore it was seen by its founders as the next step after democracy. The requirement for consensus would make them prone to political paralysis (except in small, homogeneous groups): a person can block any decision with a determined, unfounded objection. To alleviate this problem, the question is not whether everyone agrees, but rather whether someone is against (which creates a psychological barrier). A mere disapproval of the application is not enough; you have to put forward a valid argument , which in turn helps to find a more refined solution that takes this argument into account. Sociocracy is not based on the principle of consensus , but on the principle of consent, which means that not all participants have to agree, but give their consent to a solution that is suitable according to the circumstances.

For the application of sociocracy in larger groups, a system of delegation is needed in which the group selects representatives who make the decisions for it at a higher level. Kees Boeke introduced the terms naasthoger and naastlager . Naast (Dutch for “next”) refers to the fact that a higher level is not ranked higher than a lower one. In a sociocratic organization, the decision-making body of a “next higher” level must not impose its policy on a “next lower” level.

Gerard Endenburg

In 1970 Gerard Endenburg transferred the work of his teacher Boeke to the electrical engineering company that he had taken over from his parents two years earlier. The Sociocratische Kringorganisatiemethode (English Sociocratic Circle Organization Method ) emerged, which helped overcome a corporate crisis in 1976 and received worldwide attention.

According to Endenburg, there are four basic principles in sociocracy:

  1. The consent governs the decision- making process , the principle of consent .
  2. The organization is set up in circles that make their fundamental decisions autonomously within their limits.
  3. There is a double link between the circles, with at least two people participating in each of the two circle meetings: a functional leader and at least one delegate.
  4. The circles choose the people for the functions and tasks that were considered necessary for the realization of the common goal, by consensus after open discussion.

Development in the 21st Century

The previous sociocracy was used to a large extent by Brian Robertson in his commercial systemic holocracy and partly developed further. Some of these developments, such as the division into domains and the division of decisions into governance and operational business , were taken over into the Sociocracy 3.0 approach , along with large parts of agile and lean management .

Sociocracy as a method of moderation

Sociocracy wants to get by without voting, arguments should count and not the number of votes. Every member of the district is heard and can prevent the decision on an unsuitable proposal by raising a serious objection. A decision is valid as soon as all circle members give their consent (no objection). Everyone decides individually whether it is a "serious" objection with regard to the common goal. However, the objection always includes an argument in order to understand what is behind the serious objection. With the help of the arguments, a new solution is found in the group. This decision-making takes a little more time and competent moderation than simply letting the number of votes decide, there are no "losers" and all members can understand and support all decisions.

Sociocratic School

Sociocratic schools have been established in the Netherlands since 2003 at the latest . According to its own statement, the first sociocratic school in Germany is the Frisch School in Erbach in the state of Hesse (founded in 2014). The trilingual sociocratic school Apego in Berlin was founded in 2017.

Schools that call themselves "sociocratically organized" are generally not sociocratic schools, but rather apply sociocracy "only" to the teaching staff and possibly to the teaching staff. parenting.

See also

literature

Representative of the sociocracy

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hooghiemstra, Daniela Anouk: De geest in dit huis is liefderijk: het leven en De Werkplaats van Kees Boeke (1884-1966) . Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam 2013, p. 9 .
  2. ↑ Gerhard Waldherr: The ideal world . Published in Brand eins , issue 01/2009
  3. ^ Description of consent from Soziokratie.at , further information from Soziokratie.at.
  4. ↑ John A. Buck, Gerard Endenburg, The creative forces of self-organization , 1984, page 5. Quoted by: Stefan Kühl : When the monkeys rule the zoo: the pitfalls of flat hierarchies , campus, extended new edition 1998, ISBN 3- 593-35906-5 , p. 79 .
  5. ↑ Thrive-in Collaboration: James Priest about Sociocracy 3.0 (S3) and how it relates to Holacracy, Teal, Lean, Agile, etc. September 3, 2016, accessed July 17, 2018 .
  6. ↑ De Ruimte Soest. In: EUDEC. Retrieved March 9, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Geller, Karl: History of the Democratic School . tologo Verlag, Leipzig 2020, p. 165-169 .
  8. ↑ Strauch, Barbara; Reijmer, Annewiek: Sociocracy. Circle structures as an organizational principle to strengthen the shared responsibility of the individual. Verlag Franz Vahlen, Munich 2018, p. 150 .