In Sociocracy, if you don’t know the other circle members, how would you select?

In a brand-new circle, this can be an issue. It can make a lot of sense to spend some time on getting to know each other. What works well is a round on a general introduction and skill sets, as well as a self-assessment on “what is your style in groups?” to provide more information. In general, keep in mind that there is never certainty and that selections are not supposed to find the “best” candidate but simply someone able to fill the role. That means that even though getting to know each other more might yield a “better” candidate but it’s not necessary and might not be an efficient use of the circle’s time. Another measure you can take is to make terms relatively short for the first round of selections so you can move ahead while getting to know each other better for the next selection process.

For more information, check out our handbook Many Voices One Song section 3.6