Circle roles

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Guide for a Secretary

What you need to know:

• Write as little as possible → include all valid points e.g. proposal, and agreements and actions
• Do not write who said what, or about the discussion
• Summary of the points discussed - if contentious check for agreement, or add this as a note.

Question to be address: Clarity required on if the secretary should record discussions.

Suggested solution→ Summary of the tension, and a process to record. Tension as defined by something an opportunity to move the organisation forward.

• Sending out the agenda, as negotiated with the leader/chair in advance.
• Updates [written] on actions agreed in the last meeting
• Things that need to be revisited e.g. action items, dates.
• Keep a record and accessible system of recording the notes and sharing. Including backups. [Transparency]
• Security for the notes, from non-members e.g. what info is for everyone and what is for the notes.
• Integrity of and for shareable information
• → if you weren't at the meeting what do you need to know.
• The questions to be revised for the next meeting
• Getting minutes out prompt/ in a timely manner. - a week minimum
• Ability to provide direction for new members seeking clarification

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Competences - Aspirational for development

• Ability to summarise points
• Skills in non-violent communication e.g. care with emotive terms
• Technologically literate.
• paraphrasing/ capturing
• Language proficiencies

Guide for a delegate

What you need to know:

• Pay attention to ideas and feelings of all the members of the circle
• Have good information and communication flow with the leader
• Pay attention to and communicate to the parent circle the needs of the circle.
• Represent a range of different opinions of the circle and be comfortable doing it.
• Pay attention about meeting schedules (parent and your circle)
• Seek feedback from circle members (especially when the issue is controversial)
• Represent the interest of the circle in the parent circle
• Be comfortable with making objections in the parent circle.
• When the tension within the circle cannot be resolved, bring it to the parent circle.
• Learn to how to deal with issues that overlap with other circles as a delegate.
• Regularly check the minutes of the circle to make sure you’re bringing correct info to the parent circle.
• Write a regular report to the general circle meeting.

Guide for a secretary

What you need to know:

• When taking notes of (lengthy) discussions, have a process of summarizing the discussion together with the circle. Note key points rather than each persons thoughts
• Sense of order, keep it organized!
• Keep track of all documents
• Be punctual, in good time with sending out memos and documents.
• Make minutes
• Information is power - ask your circle how they access information and try to serve the purpose of everyone accessing all needed information in the best way possible
• Monitor the time your role takes
• Keep your tasks limited and stick to the role description rather than adding on “everything written”
• Decide together what the minutes should look like (transcript vs decision minutes, what is written down, what’s not)
• Make sure to discuss overlaps in the role with the facilitator & leader (e.g. in terms of agenda creating, moving in backlog, keeping track of reviews of older topics)

Guide for a Leader/Coordinator

What you need to know:

• Communicate compassionately (Non-Violent Communication)
• Communication/Social Skills
• Be aware of the aims of the circle
• Holding a wider perspective and long-term view
• Supporting accountability and self-governance
• Being transparent & never withholding useful information
• Agenda forming and supporting facilitator
• Recognising where the energy and skills are that people have
• Be flexible, adaptable and agile
• Be decisive and don’t be afraid to fail fast and again and again and again and again and again.
• Be willing to follow
• Involving others and consulting people where possible
• Have the ability to delegate
• Leader commits to the will and consent of the circle
• The success of the group will be the success of your leadership
• Dont create policy but pro

Guide for a facilitator- Room 1

Skills needed:

• How to do a selection process
• Knowledge of the 3-round structure: understand, explore, decide
• Ability to create or co-create an agenda
• Ability to tend to emotional regulation of the process: reading the group, naming tensions as they arise, engaging in reconnection processes
• Good listener
• To be unbiased and compassionate
• Ability to separate your ideas as a member of the circle from your leadership of the process as facilitator (can even see it as wearing a different ‘hat’ for contributing from each role)
• Able to stay on task and encourage others to do the same

Tasks:

• Establish and maintain a speaking order for the meeting and encourage in a kind way those that aren’t speaking as much as others
• Synthesize input from the group and make a proposal or guide forward movement in the meeting in other ways
• Maintain integrity of the meeting structure (time, agenda, sociocratic tools)
• Create the agenda (dependent on the structure and roles of your circle)
• Monitor time (if there is no timekeeper role)
• If it seems as though the group is going over on an agenda item, make proposals and use consent/objections to move forward

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Guide for a Leader

What you need to know: Dimensions of leader position

• Give input on creating agenda (in charge of?)
• Vision / mission keeper for circle
• Holding things in between meetings: is everyone on the same page, prioritizing, monitoring work
• Checking on aims of circle: asking question is circle accomplishing its purpose
• Being in charge of what platforms you use to communicate
• Know when to push through when you’re not sure who decides in a situation. Does it belong to circle or a role? What part of decision needs to be discussed? Strategic thinking with aim as goal- what is most efficient way to get there? Sensing where it needs to go rather than directing
• Connecting from the inner circle- bringing information and keeping aligned with mission of whole organization. Creating subcircles or helping circles or roles to divide aims operationally.

Advice for leaders:

As quickly as possible learn about sociocracy, master it. Learn tools and platforms, ex. Zoom, Google Docs

Read a manual such as Many Voices One Song.

Gather feedback from group about important decisions such as roles rather than “going it alone.”

Make sure you’re connected to what you’re becoming leader of: desire or passion to help inspire others.

Check how you connect to vision mission aim.

Find a mentor and ask for guidance.

Practice sharing power. Learning how to empower others to step in: know when to step back also.

Watch language, NVC aspect. Understand inclusion

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2

Guide for a Leader

What you need to know:

What does the role do

• Like the captain of a ship, you’re holding the steering wheel: you’re holding the long-term vision and strategy the big picture view, of the circle. Is what we’re doing getting us to where we want to go?
• Like a parent/caregiver/coach: Know the member’s strengths and weaknesses, and how their skills fit together. Ensure members interact with each other smoothly, Ask, do circle members feel well in their roles? How happy are they, how clear do they find their role? How can I support their growth?
• Like a conductor, you dance the dance of:
• Not letting anything fall through the cracks. Make sure everything gets done that needs to get done. (be a “Catchall” or servant leader):
• AND trying to get work attributed to a role / make sure things are getting done by others
• Pays attention to governance as a result of understanding work (for example, sees which bit of work needs to be given to an operational role or to a new circle.)

How do you interact with other roles

• Secretary: Keep track of the Backlog, making sure workflows and policies are well documented
• Facilitator: Contribute to the agenda from a future oriented perspective, you might facilitate a section of the meeting especially in relation to long-term planning, reports from the parent/home/next-broader circle
• Delegate: Coordinate who says what in reports to parent/home/next-broader circle
• Up to the circle: who prepares the agenda (you, and/or facilitator, and/or secretary), who fills the leader role

What you’re not:

• A top-down manager
• Deciding what other people do

Group 3 - The AWESOME

Deborah, Brian, Audrée, Marisa

Guide for a LEADER …..

Brainstorm:

• Checking in on people and following up with people after the meeting; checking in between meetings; getting to know peoples’ work styles; who may need to be followed up with? Who needs hands off? People completing tasks…
• Leader is responsible for results… makes sure that things happen. “Amy” is a leader who asks if this activity falls into a role? If it doesn’t, it’s my responsibility.
• Know about proposals and where they belong, in which domain. Understands the aims and domains of different circles’ focus according to agile organizational structure.
• Leader is responsible for fulfilling the aims of the circle, is responsible for the domain of the circle
• Leader needs to know what needs to happen next. Make sure that people holding roles are being called upon to share progress on projects. Responsibility for leader to make sure roles are acting in ways to fulfill aim and domains with timing that makes sense
• Leader asks feedback from other circles in order to check for conflict of interest or conflict over domain between other circles
• Leader uses organizational skills to oversee the capacity of a circle. It helps to know when to form working groups or sub-circles if and when it is beyond the capacity or role of majority of members, in order to have a temporary or helping circle.
• Leader is responsible for implementing policy from the general circle

4

Guide for a LEADER …..

What you need to know:

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• Understand the difference between the “what” and the “how” - the bigger picture may shift and so the practical tasks may shift. Understand the organizational expectations of participation in the broader organizational picture.
• Bring in the perspective of other circles in the organization. Understand how to communicate in the organization in order to best coordinate efforts and integrate information from other circles.
• Understand when to pass off other tasks to other people so capacity of the leader can be held to adapt to changing conditions, in order to steer and manage the capacity to act to emergent contexts
• Understand “power” in organizations, how to empower members, and how to influence and keep members accountable.

What a leader is not:

• Just an information person, not a delegate, not a representative role or an envoy; it’s a team role. Not a manager, is a project manager, is not a position that an endless task completer; not an excuse to get overwhelmed

4

Guide for a Leader.

What you need to know:

• To be a good listener
• Communicate with NVC
• caring for the group. understanding the needs of the circle. trying to care for the shared needs and purpose of the group
• To have clear understanding of vision, mission, vision, aim of the group, understanding how to carry it out
• Willingness to do work in between meetings
• Capacity to make decisions
• Bringing information down from higher or adjacent circles
• Capacity to bring information that brings the circle forward
• To support facilitator entrustment
• To be omnipartial (understanding and holding of all sides. Give space for all considerations)
• Understanding of trust between facilitator and leader - for planning and meeting process. Be clear on what support for each other looks like.
• Awareness and management of tension between hierarchical structure operating with a sociocracy--clarity on operations vs. governance; information flow and other organisational dynamics
• Holding to the structure while seeing and working with teams grappling with structure

5

Guide for a Leader

What you need to know:

• Take a deep breath and trust the circle
• Be grounded in the vision, mission, aims, and domains
• Be comfortable reaching out to people in the circle on a regular basis (in coordination with deadlines agreed to by the circle)
• Communication - work with non-violent communication
• Be self-reflective about power and how power is distributed in the circle so that you are in service for the circle. Share power.
• Be aware of your competencies and capacities. Is this the right time for you? Is there more you need to learn? How can you get support? (and you don’t have to have everything in place before you begin)
• Be willing to pick up the pieces, but don’t expect yourself to pick up everything. (Work from the heart of a servant).
• Be attentive of people’s needs (including yours); and keep in contact with everyone
• Use the sheet from the reading--am I doing this?
• Read Many Voices, One Song and encourage everyone else to do this, too. Study sociocracy by reading or taking a course
• Sometimes the best way to learn is to just do it
• Be comfortable in asking for feedback;
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6

Guide for a Facilitator

• Good to be a calm person and can be b
• Listen and gauge non-verbal communication
• Be non-partial, use non-violent communication,
• Not emotionally attached to the outcome of the work of the circle; distinguish between your role as facilitator and member of the circle (don’t misuse your voice as a facilitator to influence decisions)
• Be open to change strategy
• Know the rules and protocols (process) for sociocracy
• Sense of timing for meetings, but also the character of that circle and its members
• Taking care of the balance between equivalence and efficiency
• Be good at summarizing what people have said so they can gain clarity for the group
• Can set the agenda so that the circle can accomplish (most) of what is set in a meeting
• Taking care of the people -- for example, if people are nervous, take a break
• Decision-making sheet 2020 (kinstacdn.com)

Guide for a Secretary

• Listen and discerns what is important in order to write it down (record it)
• Can type fast
• Can multi-task
• Has the right to stop the meeting and seek clarification (ask a question or re-phrase)
• Meeting deadlines for posting the notes; responsible at follow-up
• Steer toward just recording decisions (not every single word); just write down the essentials (be able to hear the essentials)
• Be a good organizer for the notes and feedback
• Communicate well with the leader and facilitator; give good feedback for the agenda
• Remind people of the meeting by sending notice

Guide for a Facilitator

What is the job as we see it:

Being present in meeting and holding meeting process / structure

Being present in group process- seeing what is most important in the moment. Ex: what is happening with the people vs achieving something. Comfortable in intuitive.

Set agenda with leader.

Being a good timekeeper.

Have the confidence to easily stop someone, table conversation so they feel heard but keep conversation moving

Intuitive thinking- make sure everyone is involved in meeting. Draw out if they’re not talking or not having needs met. Make sure circle meeting is accomplishing goal.

Make sure everyone is heard and part of the circle. Negotiating tensions or objections: knowing process of selections, sociocracy process.

Making proposals on the fly: to change agenda or when solutions present themselves

NVC or other communication skills.

Ability to attend the meetings!! :)

What advice do we have:

Make sure when you commit that you have space, time, ability to attend

Balance structure with flexibility: keep to structure of meeting unless you get consent to change it. Change meeting when energy presents a new direction.

Ability to detach emotionally when participant and facilitator at the same time. When is it personal, when are you seeing whole picture for the group?

Ask for help when needed!

Go to a round from the group when you don’t know what to do.

Make sure you have proper technology and WiFi if online meeting. (Zoom room, etc)

Work hand in hand with secretary for note taking, have backup plans in case something fails.

Make sure you’re in good connection with other roles, collecting group wisdom. Solutions come from unexpected places. Be a good listener.

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6

Delegate

• Someone trustworthy, can synthesize complex ideas to communicate to the parent circle
• Be consistent about attending and participating
• Have an overview of the circle’s needs that you are the delegate for
• Be able to speak up for the needs of the circle in the parent circle
• Be connected to the circle’s role/job and what it is doing
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