Sociocracy: What Would Change & How?

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What Would Actually Change?

We would have a Coordinating Circle, which would be one step removed from the Board of Trustees. This team would ensure the ministries are aware of what’s going on in each ministry, work together collaboratively, and be a conduit between the Board and the rest of the circles as needed. This may remind some long-term NUUC’ers of past organizational structures.

What it would mean for the future of Northwoods.

We would have to modify existing NUUC bylaws, because our bylaws refer to specific committees that must exist and who align hierarchically to various parts of leadership (Board, minister, etc.). The general, summarized proposal on the table as of September 2024 is to remove the mention of committees and state that governance happens through sociocracy, which can be handled in a policy if we decide to do that. The intent is it would be more flexible to our changing needs: i.e., we don’t always need a project circle for an outdoor renovation, or maybe we’ll go through a period where we don’t have OWL, so we won’t need a circle for that.

Some Examples

Here are some examples of common “ways of working” and how they would work differently (or not) under a sociocracy model.

Current Proposed
Board approves changes of committee leaders Circles have agreed upon roles and who fills the roles can rotate
Committee information flow goes upward, e.g. to Foundational Ministry on BoT Information is shared freely especially between circles that overlap
The Board is in charge of Northwoods The Board sets a strategy and thinks longer-term; everyone in a circle owns Northwoods
Committee chairs feel like they can’t leave their position if they need a break (or even ask for help) Leadership is shared among multiple people in the circle, allowing flexibility and playing to individual strengths
Leaders can get “stuck” or “pigeonholed” in something they’re good at, because there’s no one else to take on the work Individuals could participate in a greater number of circles and not be expected to lead them all; it’s easier to step away when there is more support in a circle vs. one leader
Large expenses are approved by the board Same – large expenses are approved by the board per bylaws
Board members are separated from committees Two of the board positions are Coordinating Circle members, one of those being a static person from the Board and the other being a flexible member of the Coordinating Circle (whomever the Coordinating Circle chooses to be its delegate to the Board)
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