Erin Young – The Sociocracy Consulting Group

Power-With at Play

June 29, 2021June 29, 2021Erin YoungUncategorized

Power-with is a mode of operating in deep collaboration, central to the Sociocratic Circle-organization Method (SCM). Should you be familiar with the gracious and effective momentum of the SCM, you will understand the natural intelligence embedded in its power-with approach. Here we explore what power-with is, and why it is so powerful to organizations in…Continue reading

Dare To Share the Lead

December 16, 2020January 18, 2021Erin YoungUncategorized

“…our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability.” ~ Brene Brown Courageous leadership is a core mandate of Brene Brown’s 2018 book Dare To Lead, as described in this October 2020 episode of her newly launched Dare To Lead podcast. Vulnerability is at the heart of the matter.…

Share Hard Decisions to Effectively Navigate Trying Times

April 7, 2020April 7, 2020Erin YoungUncategorized

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds many businesses are being forced to make hard decisions. Not only are teams working remotely, leadership is triaging financial bleed through staff layoffs and restructuring. In many companies with a traditional top-down organisational structure, managers alone make these decisions without broad team consultation. Workers lower on the ladder have little…Continue reading

Creative Solutions & Good Vibes

What a valuable tool sociocracy is. I have been working with Sheella Mierson, a gifted instructor of this process, and she is great! With only one of the techniques I learned from her we were able to cut through a thorny impasse in our Board and generate a creative solution with good vibes all around. WOW.

Rabbi Marcia Prager, P'nai Or Jewish Renewal community of Philadelphia, and Director and Dean of Ordination Programs for ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal

Fewer Meetings, Better Decisions

We adopted sociocracy and all of a sudden there is a room full of empowered people helping make decisions. People feel different. I’d say that at the end of 100% of our circle meetings - where we set policy - everyone says, 'My goodness. I feel so much more energized.' We have fewer meetings over time as we’ve implemented sociocracy, the decisions are better, and the follow-through is better because everyone’s on board.

Paul Kervick, Outreach Coordinator and Board Member, Vermont

Easy, Efficient Delegation

Since we've adopted sociocracy, it's much easier and more efficient for me to delegate. I'm able to receive information from the staff, the faculty, and all the different committees in a much more efficient fashion. I can't tell you how much more enjoyable my job is.

Renee Owen, Executive Director, Rainbow Community School, Asheville, North Carolina

All voices heard

I was especially struck by how the structure of the meeting allowed all voices to be heard, and resisted any one person dominating the discussion. I have held leadership positions in several nonprofit organizations and work with nonprofits in my consulting business, so I have spent a lot of time in meetings! I think so many organizations -- not just nonprofits -- will find they can accomplish more, and more inclusively, using a sociocratic meeting model.

Kristen Sbrogna, parent at Five Creeks Studio educational resource center for homeschooling families

Visitor awed by trust and open communication

Sociocracy has allowed us to have open-hearted conversations about emotionally-laden topics and develop policies we were not able to handle before. One visitor, new to sociocracy, was in awe of the trust and open communication in our meeting.

Cynthia Kennedy, Founding Member, Open Floor International