This short post gives you few pointers on where to start learning about sociocracy.
I will work on this post some more and enhance it, but it should be “good enough for now, safe enough to try” so I publish it the way it is.
First Time
If you have no clue about Sociocracy, then I would suggest you watch few introductory videos to whet your appetite, for example:
And you can always read what Wikipedia has to say about Sociocracy. Also, this comparison of different decision making methods is worth reading.
A word of caution: there is a specific language and way of thinking involved so don’t get discouraged if you feel like you don’t get it the first time you try, OK?
Reading / Watching
There is a lot of free material & many consulting companies that could help you introduce sociocratic methods to your company. From my personal experience I can suggest the following learning sources:
- Sociocracy 3.0 videos and Sociocracy 3.0 guide
- Sociocracy For All videos – including both introductory materials and talks from yearly web conference
- Also, some short articles by Ted J Rau
Communities
Also, there is a thriving community around sociocracy, so you could try:
- Facebook Sociocracy For All group
- Facebook Sociocracy 3.0 International Community of Practice group
Books
- Many Voices One Song: Shared Power with Sociocracy, by Ted J Rau & Jerry Koch-Gonzalez – this is Sociocracy for All book. Strongly recommended!
- (Dutch only!) Sociocratie 3.0 by Jeff Crumps – haven’t read this one but I have pleasure to know Jeff so I expect it to be great.
Trainings
As for the trainings I took part in Sociocracy 3.0 courses by Thrive-in collaboration (by James Priest and Lili David) and I can recommend them. Sociocracy is one of the things you should really experience to get a good understanding of (some things look hard/unattractive when reading or listening about them).