It Is a Long Way from Theory to Practice...

Sociocracy is simple and yet, for some reason that I feel I am close to grasping, it is difficult to implement. The College experiment is still happening... but lately, circle meetings have been canceled, certain people's resistance to the experiment has been weighing more, and the overall energy around the overall project has diminished. So I have been in deep thought about this and the reasons why it is happening. And although I will not claim to have the complete answer, I think I have a piece of the puzzle, and I am in the process of placing it within the overall picture.

This piece is me... or, put differently, the absence of others. Let me explain. Dynamic Governance is a paradigm shift from the reign of the individual to the governance by the collective. And I have fallen into the old trap of thinking I could do it on my own, that I could change the College, fix the problems, make it a better place than it already is, in other words, I have been working on my own, reigning over the "collective" experiment. Granted, there has been tremendous support from the top, and many colleagues have been involved in their circle. Even so, I have mostly been working from an outsider's stance.

Now, I will give myself credit by stating that I have done my best to get others' input and have tried hard to get others involved... but in retrospect, I was doing it from my throne. The time has come to step down, join the collective part of the experiment, and start enjoying the part I crave most: teamwork!

So how will this be done? By creating a team of any interested College employee that will get together to think and create together. A team that will take ownership of the process and become more involved and more responsible and more engaged. A friend of mine recently said that from what he had read, most of us can only hope to experience great teamwork where people feel truly connected with one another once or twice in a lifetime... until we begin using DG.

So I hope this initiative will work for the College and for those getting involved. This is but one step towards the greater goal! For one, I certainly look forward to the potential of a great teamwork experience!