Hey
I want to write an article about regenerative governance. I see sociocracy as a part of that.
But for the article, I want to focus on this (and I assume it’s old news to all of you, especially those deep into permaculture; but the audience are people who don’t see that connection yet).
Many see governance as the container/ruleset to allow regenerative projects to happen. Which means they will often use rigid/hierarchical governance to support regenerative projects.
What most people don’t see is that governance itself can be either extractive and disconnecting or regenerative.
Here are some examples:
- Non-regenerative governance sees people and outcomes as separate (or even in competition - if you take care of people, you lose money). Regenerative governance sees people and outcomes as connected. We assume that people are inherently motivated to work on projects that are meaningful to them. (Regardless of whether this is paid or unpaid work. The point is people don’t need to be controlled to do work.) Since we don’t control people and trust that they can make good decisions, all we need to do is check for alignment (does this work for all projects/people involved) which is what consent is.
- A regenerative approach to relationships: Connecting people with each other is worth it. People thrive in small, trusted, cooperative teams. Restorative justice and conflict resolution, and regenerative communication (like based on needs/NVC instead of blame and right/wrong thinking) support quality relationships that support teams that support work in the organization. Diversity is a strength and therefore has to be a focus.
- A regenerative approach to information and transparency: information, including budget information, has to be open by default; ideally data is curated for better transparency. (This is where linking comes in as curated information flow; as well as open minutes etc.) The better information flows, the more everyone has the information necessary to connect and build synergy among operations. That way, we can also reduce “waste” in the organization and find win-win loops.
- A regenerative approach to organizations needs to take into consideration context - that’s why local decision-making is important.
Anything you’d add?