Sheella Mierson – The Sociocracy Consulting Group

Your Best Self, Virtually

August 19, 2020August 24, 2020Sheella MiersonUncategorized

We’re all spending so much time in online meetings, that it’s worth a little effort to use a virtual platform in the best ways we can. Here are some tips. You probably already know that it can help a meeting if everyone has their video on when possible (see key #2 in 7 Essential Keys…Continue reading

Prepare in Advance for Meetings that Rock

August 1, 2020August 19, 2020Sheella MiersonUncategorized

In ordinary times, meetings can run the gamut from dismal to invigorating. There is possibly even a wider range in this time of economic upheaval and physical distancing, when many of our “normal” practices for productive meetings are disrupted. Now with so many virtual meetings, how do we keep some of the spirit and function…Continue reading

7 Essential Keys for (Virtual) Meetings that Rock

July 21, 2020August 24, 2020Sheella MiersonUncategorized

Remember in-person meetings? When we would be in the same physical room with in-the-flesh people? If we’re fortunate, we had meetings where people established trust and rapport, respected and were curious about each other’s ideas, and thought creatively together. Or maybe meetings were occasionally like that, or we hoped they would be. Now with so…Continue reading

5 Pitfalls of a Top-Down Hierarchy and What to Do about Them – Part 3

February 14, 2020January 23, 2021Sheella MiersonUncategorized

This is the third in a three-part series, and is an excerpt from a white paper by the same title. Part 1 and part 2 listed four pitfalls of a top-down organization: (1) communication goes one-way, (2) the person who makes the decisions creates a bottleneck, (3) management and workers become adversaries, and (4) workers…

5 Pitfalls of a Top-Down Hierarchy and What to Do about Them – Part 2

January 31, 2020January 23, 2021Sheella MiersonUncategorized

This is the second in a three-part series, and is an excerpt from a white paper by the same title. Part 1 listed two pitfalls of a top-down organization: (1) one-way communication, and (2) decision bottlenecks. Here are two more. Pitfall #3. Management and workers become adversaries. We all know of companies where relations between…

5 Pitfalls of a Top-Down Hierarchy and What to Do about Them – Part 1

January 15, 2020January 23, 2021Sheella MiersonUncategorized

The structure of a top-down organization, standard during the industrial age, ill-suits a world with fast-paced change. An alternative is the Sociocratic Circle Method, a whole-systems approach to decision-making, governance, and project management. It creates more inclusive, resilient, and effective organizations where all stakeholders have a voice in the policies that affect their work. This…Continue reading

Five Ways to Avoid Mistakes Facilitators Make That Can Ruin a Meeting

January 2, 2020January 7, 2020Sheella MiersonUncategorized

We’ve all been to meetings that are a disappointment or even a disaster, and hopefully others that are a dream – where the group gels, people think creatively together, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. What makes the difference? Here are five ways to avoid mistakes that can tip the…Continue reading

Smooth flying for PULSE Board thanks to Dynamic Governance

September 24, 2014February 5, 2020Sheella MiersonUncategorized

In this post on the Exceptional Boards blog, Michael Kelrick, chair of the biology department at Truman State University, describes his experiences as he and his fellow PULSE (Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education) members begin to implement Dynamic Governance in their organization, with training and support from members of The Sociocracy Consulting Group (TSCG).…Continue reading

A Collective Effort Like no Other

When we set up the International Conscious Movement Teachers Association we wanted to create a genuinely inclusive organisation run on a less hierarchical model. It’s been quite a journey - learning new ways of being - transparency, equivalence...passing decisions off to those responsible for the area of work - and letting them get on with it! We ended up with a lot more than we had bargained for...a collective effort like no other, and intelligent decision-making that genuinely stems from collaboration and creativity. The biggest surprise for many of us is how heart-warming the process is - and how it supports the making of bonds between us.

Tim Foskett, Director, International Conscious Movement Teachers Association

Increased Staff Engagement

Our practitioners and members of the staff seemed happy enough, but they weren't really engaged in the business of running our center. All the management thinking seemed to float up to me. Now, with sociocracy, everyone is communicating about our processes. We are getting more efficient and some of the load is coming off my shoulders.

Executive Director of a Vermont healthcare center

Better Workload Balance

We are deeply concerned...about work/life balance...using sociocracy, I led an effort to start cutting back on workload... As a result we work more effectively. Our enrollment this year is up 10%, much better than the rest of the university is doing, and we've just landed a $7 million dollar grant that will let us set up two more departments in the school.

Dr. Edward Clift, Dean, The School of Media Culture and Design at Woodbury University, Burbank, CA

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

Ready to Use

The ideas have been cleverly worked out for a very long time and are at the point of being ready to be taught and used. We were well-trained and it is usable NOW. For 12 hours training this was a stunning achievement. Fantastic! Best bunch of new ideas I have heard for a long time.

Dave Burrows, Director, AIDS Projects Management Group

Moving Through Problems Together

Our community faced daunting financial and personality challenges on its path to getting built. Sociocracy helped everyone get over their problems by getting together. We now have a happy, thriving community and sociocracy is the basis of our governance system.

Founding member of a Vermont cohousing community