The Basic Meeting Format in Sociocracy is a structured process that promotes effective communication, decision-making, and collaboration within a group.
It typically follows a set agenda and includes various rounds of discussion, consent-based decision-making, and feedback. Here’s a basic outline of a Basic Sociocracy Meeting Format:
Check-in:
Begin the meeting with a round of check-ins where each participant shares how they’re feeling and any updates they have since the last meeting. This helps create a sense of connection and sets the tone for the meeting.
Review agenda:
Review the agenda for the meeting, which should have been circulated prior to the meeting. Make any necessary adjustments and obtain consent from the group to proceed with the agenda.
Discussion rounds:
Use rounds of discussion to allow each participant to express their thoughts and concerns on each agenda item. Use a pop-corn talking style or a designated order to ensure everyone has an opportunity to speak without interruptions. Each person should mark in a certain way the fact that they completed their speaking time and make space for another member to speak.
Consent-based decision-making:
For each decision item, aim for consent-based decision-making, which means that decisions are made unless there are valid objections.
Facilitate a round of clarifying questions to ensure everyone understands the proposal, followed by a round of reactions (or concerns).
Address any objections and work towards finding a solution that meets everyone’s needs and that works for all. Once there are no (more) objections, the consent is obtained and the proposal become a decision.
Feedback:
End the meeting with a round of feedback, where participants can share their observations, suggestions, or appreciations about the meeting process or content. Feedback could also refers to what we could improve on our next meetings.
Include the feedback in the minutes is a good idea that helps us remind how to improve our meetings. Better meetings means better work and a better work usually means better result. We are always looking for better results, is it?
Check-out:
Close the meeting with a round of check-outs, where participants can share how they’re feeling after the meeting and any final comments or questions.
Sayin what we take with us from the meeting is a way to keep us focused on our work between meetings.
Follow-up:
Assign responsibilities and establish action items for any decisions made during the meeting. A checkable “To Do” list inside the AGENDA it’s always useful to have. AGENDA and MINUTES should be available and accessible for all participants for future reference.
Sometimes it’s useful to have a follow-up survey to gather more feedback from members and plan the future meetings according tp the priorities that show up.
Knowledge about the “circle temperature” is also useful when working and deciding together. Follow-up could be a good opportunity to find and sole tensions or to prevent conflicts.
It’s important to note that The Basic Sociocracy Meeting Format can be adapted to suit the needs and culture of a specific group or organization.
The key is to promote inclusivity, effective communication, and consent-based decision-making to ensure that all voices are heard and decisions are made with broad agreement.
To discover more “in depth” insights about “The Basic Meeting Format in Sociocracy”, I invite you to use this Sociocracy Manual:
I guess it is a good idea to combine theory with practice so I invite you to be present and to participate in our:
In the Community of Practice for Facilitators (CoP-F) no one teaches anyone, but we all learn from each other by practicing and sharing real life experiences.
We welcome your presence and contribution. It will enrich all of our sociocracy knowledge.
Next meeting is scheduled for May 8th, 2023, from 14:00 UTC (CoP-F East) and from 18:30 UTC (CoP-F West). We are available to schedule any other meetings, as necessary.
Best wishes to all of you!