Self-Organization Adoption Program

Nick Osborne


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A self-directed program for adopting or adapting v5 of Holacracy and complementary self-organizing practices in your  team/organisation at your own pace.


Do you want to adopt Holacracy/self-organizing practices in a flexible and modular way which introduces new material with time to  embed new practices so that they really stick?


Attempts at trying to introduce Holacracy® and other new self-organizing practices are famous for not really sticking! 

This program is born from the pain, blood, sweat and tears of trying to introduce self-organizing beyond heirarchy into organizations over a period of 25 years, and 10 years experience with Holacracy.

The pattern tends to go something like this:

  • people get enthusiastic about the idea of new ways of working/self-organizing/Holacracy
  • they try out some new things which they think will shift their people and organisation, but without investing the time and effort in reaching down the foundations of how people work together and how power is structured
  • maybe a few things improve superficially but the changes they originally hoped for don't happen, or don't stick, and the old habits win
  • so either the initiative just fizzles out and they stop trying to introduce new things, or they abandon the changes altogther with a sense of resignation 'well it sounded good, but doesn't really work in practice'. 

This Adoption Program takes you step-by-step through the process of adopting self-organizing practices; by laying the foundations of role-clarity, tension processing, personal organization at the start, and then building up to new meeting practices, rules of co-operation, distributed authority, Tribe Space meetings and ways to process personal tensions; following the modular approach of v5 of the Holacracy Constitution.

Either you can just take the program just yourself and then try and lead your team/organization through it; or you can have all of your team/organization members take it at the same time, so you can all learn the new content and practices together- this is a far more effective and powerful way to do it.  

About the Program

the organisation Space

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Since Holacracy is considered by many as the gold-standard methodology for defining roles, optimising operations and distributing authority through a robust governance process- the program uses v5 of the Holacracy Constitution as the ORienting framework in the Organisation Space. As you go through the program you choose to adopt or adapt Holacracy as needed
the people Space

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A variety of different practices for the People Space are drawn on to create the conditions for healthy human relationships; including Meta-Relating, Matrix Leadership, Conscious Collaboration and more … These are introduced each month in parallel with practices in the organisation space

ADOPT or ADAPT Holacracy and other Self-Organizing Practices at your own pace


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"Sometimes you hear something and you think you understand it. 

But then you hear it explained in a different way or context and suddenly you realise you'd not really seen or understood the full picture. 

I feel like that about this point.  So yes I'll review the video again and keep thinking about this and then incorporate it into the training for our organization.  You're right, I don't think people are really getting this point in our organization.'

Program Participant


Here's What You'll DO & LEARN


By taking this Adoption Program you will DO the following:
    1. Follow a repeating action-learning cycle, either monthly or at your own pace, of:
      • accessing new videos to learn new material
      • setting pre-defined homework for your team members to start using new practices
      • having time to experiment with and embed the new practices and review progress  before starting the next cycle

    2. Adopt or adapt each article of v5 of the Holacracy Constitution,  or just the included self-organizing practices; starting with Article 1- Organizational Structure, and then choosing which article would be best to adopt next, so following a tension-driven approach to adoption

    3. Start Tribe Space meetings and learn how to develop the trust and psychological safety for people to be able to process personal/inter-personal tensions using different pathways to organisational tensions

    4. Have the option for additional workshops to support the introduction and practicing of new practices as/when needed

    5. Have the option for Coaching to answer any questions, address any confusion/resistance/stuckness- as/when needed.
By taking this Adoption Program you will LEARN
    1. New understandings and distinctions which express the shift away from conventional or consensual ways of organising and towards a paradigm of self-organising, such as the distinction between:
      • Roles/People
      • Organization Space/Tribe Space
      • Operations/Governance
      • Tactical Meetings/Governance Meetings
      • Projects/Next Actions
      • Pitches/Requests

    2. New practices, which, when practiced, become the habits that support the shift to Self-Organization, such as: 
      • Defining and updating role definitions
      • Speaking to and from roles to support role clarity
      • Sensing, tracking and processing tensions
      • Processing organizational tensions using 4 pre-defined pathways
      • Processing personal/inter-personal tensions using different pathways which are more suited for them, in Tribe Space
      • A system of personal organisation so that people can truly rely on each other without managers/a steering group 

    3. The content of v5 of the Holacracy Constitution, thus enabling you to make an informed decision about:
      • Whether it's better for your organisation to fully adopt each article and practice Holacracy, or adapt the articles for your own situation, or just adopt some of the self-organizing practices without actually adopting any articles at all
      • The order in which it would make sense for your organisation to adopt/adapt the articles and new practices

    4. A structured methodology for adopting new Self-Organizing Practices and structures. 

The Risks of trying to adopt Self-Organizing Practices without doing a Program like this


Trying to adopt new ways of working, but the changes not really sticking
Reinforcing shadow power structures and making them harder to change
Wasting time and money
Sabotaging future attempts at self-organizing
Not achieving the true and radical potential in the Power Shift of Self-Organization

Is this Progam for Me/Us?


✓ i know my Team/Organisation wants to  Self-organize better, but I don't know how to make it happen
✓ we can't afford to pay for consultants/Coaches and so need a DIY approach to do it ourselves
✓ i want the flexibility to learn about and  experiment with these new things at our own pace
✓ i don't want to adopt an overwhelming amount of new stuff all in one go, i want to do it in small, manageable steps
✓ i like the idea of expert input on-Demand with videos, and the option of adding Workshops/coaching as needed
✓ i want time to really practice new things, and see them take hold, before then introducing even more new stuff

About Your Expert/Instructor- Nick Osborne


Welcome to Evolving Organisation- we are thrilled that you are here!

Since the mid 1990's I have been studying, researching, experimenting with, practicing and training people how to improve how they work together in teams and organisations. I've worked with thousands of people, (including as a Partner with HolacracyOne, the organization that founded Holacracy) and have distilled the lessons I've learned into a series of online programmes and expert support.

As the Founder of Evolving Organisation I take the lead on the work and bring in other people from a wide network of expertise as needed. My intention is to help you improve how well your teams are adapted to surviving and thriving in our complex and changing world. My purpose is to inspire, equip and support Changemakers to make changes- are you such a Changemaker?

Nick Osborne Founder, Evolving Organisation

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This program was not what I expected!

Leading an organisation is hard. Nick's program, coaching and guidance has made it easier. We have shifted attitudes and behaviours so that everyone now plays their part in leading the organisation. That's everyone now doing something when they spot there's an opportunity, a risk, an issue, or a grumble. Everyone's managing their tasks better, and there's more trust and less need to maintain oversight as a result. We're becoming a more mature organisation, and I'm finding my job, and my work relationships, much more pleasurable as a result.

I would highly recommend Nick's program to any senior management team, or team, that simply wants to work better and get more done; and be happier in the process.

 

Mark Westcombe Founder, Director, Mission Lead, Animal Think Tank

Adoption Program Content

Each one of the five parts of the Program enables you to adopt/adapt one of the five articles of v5 of the Holacracy Constitution, develop a space for healthy human relationships and includes homework and relevant personal/professional development.

Foundations of Self-Organization: Defining Roles, Processing Tensions, Personal Organization & People SpaceThe first and foundational pieces which need to be in place before trying more advanced self-organizing practices!

Tactical Meetings & Tribe SpaceEffective operational meetings + deepening trust & psychological safety + develop the personal capacity to differentiate between organisational/personal/relational tensions.

Rules of Cooperation & Redefining FeedbackRoles rely on each other without Managers for Transparency/Priority Alignment/Reliable Processing & starting a healthy Peer Feedback process

THE GOVERNANCE PROCESS & DEALING WITH DIFFERENCESRole clarity and accountability: a clear process for distributing authority. Released November 2021

DISTRIBUTED AUTHORITY & DIFFERENTIATING FEEDBACKClear decision-making & responsive action. Released December 2021

Choose the Option below which Best Fits your Needs

SELF-DIRECTED
£300 for each of 5 parts
Includes the following for up to 10 people from a single organisation:
On-demand, online videos & digital resources
Self-paced or follow guided 7-month program
Step-by-step instructions to learn new practices to adopt each article of the Holacracy Constitution
New practices drip-fed & designed to build on each other
Homework instructions to practice & embed learning
Take any Part in any order to adopt the Holacracy Constitution in a modular way that suits your organisation
Complement with additional support from your own Self-Organization Coach if needed
COACH LED COHORT
£1,000/month for 7 months
Program for 1 or 2 people (Coaches) to lead 1 team/their organisation through adoption
Coaches & team members have access to all materials of the Self-Directed program
1 live workshop per month for team members of 1 team
4 x 90-min Coaching sessions per month for internal Self-Organization Coaches
Online communication forum for Q&A in-between sessions
Support for using Metrics to measure progress with adoption of self-organizing practices each month
Membership of a cohort of Coaches from other organisations - to benefit from other's learning journeys