The Learning Journey & Circles of Practice
Dear sociocratic friends, times are changing fast.
I guess the only way to adapt and survive is by strengthening our network and by learning much more.
This post is about the second issue: “learning much more” through experiences.
I recently discussed with a SoFA friend and he told me that the first step in sociocracy is to participate in the basic courses and trainings then to the Advanced Facilitation Course, the SoLT and eventually the SoFA Academy. I agree 100% with this. My question is: What happens next?
A few people become active in their roles in SoFA or elsewhere and that’s amazing. This way sociocracy spreads itself more and more.
I would like to add another dimension to this “Learning Journey” process, and it’s about sustainability.
I guess expanding without being sure we can sustain this process will probably take us to a certain kind of failure, I mean to superficiality.
Fortunately we have a “good seed” we could give more importance in the implementation of sociocracy, and I named here the practice of sociocracy.
Practice has two faces. We practice sociocracy through our roles, in our circles and different organizations. Is this enough?
Is it enough for somebody involved in sports to practice it just by participating in competitions or is it useful to train outside “the arena”?
Is it enough for a singer or a band to participate in shows, on stage, or is it recommended to keep them warm by training themselves behind the scenes, I mean off stage?
Is it enough to learn how to speak, to read or write or should we exercise these abilities by training ourselves in spaces we feel safe and where our mistakes do not affect those around us or the operational process itself?
What I propose is to integrate the CoPs activities in the Continuous Learning process defining and assigning them practice related domains.
Yes, to be more specific, what I propose is to form Circles of Practice as child circles of the Continuous Learning Circle.
I guess that practicing sociocracy only in the roles we have in our circles, always in the company of the same people can lead each of us to an undesirable routine. To be fresh and able to adapt and progress, I feel we need exchange opportunities and more learning situations.
I invite you to think about practice as a continuous learning opportunity that could sustain the spreading of sociocracy. Let’s give it the importance it has and make some Circles of Practice with their own domains and aims.
Yes, I guess that the Circles of Practice will be true communities and could be formally integrated in the continuous learning process.
I am interested in your feedback and I would appreciate any feedback from you.
Your friend,
because I care