She's Geeky Session: On Do-ocracy

I lead a session on do-ocracy at She's Geeky last week. Denise Gearty was kind enough to take notes during the session and here they are - to hopefully inspire you to do things. Do-ocracy is a tricky thing - but you just have to go in and do it. :)

Did you miss the conference? There are tons of awesome notes here.

 

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Do-ocracy Session // Tuesday, October 23, 2007 // 10:30 AM

Do-ocracy (definition on board)

Do-ocracy is a summary term for consensus management on a non-authoritarian, classical anarchist model emphasizing voluntary involvement and actual results, where those with an actual involvement make the decisions.

GTD = Getting Things Done (www.davidco.com)

How to Get Your Hearts Desire, a six step process outlined

Heather found Do-ocracy based on experience in mostly volunteer environments (e.g. large Burning Man camps www.burningman.com). From here she developed experience and transitioned to the LA tech community.

Key learning:  solicit/ask for help from trusted friends and colleagues 

Question: What if you are not clear on your vision?  How do you check this? How do you know?

• Need confidence in yourself
• Don’t always be a perfection tied down by details
• Allow yourself failure every once in awhile

 
How do you start the community?  -- Ignite action?

• Start with something small (a small vision) even something material and practice
• Don’t forget to be direct and ask for help, feedback, etc.
• Sometimes you just have to ask
• Consult with your friends
• Know feedback verses criticism

Find a Space to Stretch In -- find it, encourage it. A safe space to practice do-ocracy.

Creativity allows the development of ideas and enables action

Julia comments that Australia and New Zealand follow do-ocracy in the workplace. It must be a cultural phenomenon. From her experience it fostered honesty and a successful project

Ryanne (video blogging)does large scale events/video blogging practiced do-ocracy

Heathervescent comments on her same experiences.  She recommends that you have to be aware of others who want to step in and take over responsibilities.  By engaging others you open up growth and opportunity.

Cultivating Leaders: Pay attention and take note of others to get involved.  Sometimes you have to ask people to play certain roles.

Heather Newman "There is no fucking book!"  ~ Comment on where are the guidelines or rules?…where are the mentors that direct me?

You need consensus when working in teams; so, you have to communicate to get things done . . . to move forward.

Partner with people who compliment you, may be opposite of you  -- they can make you shine

There is a difference between "what you are good at" and "what your strengths are" -- Know this!

References:

Book: Strength Finders

Site: Positive Psychology - there is a test on the site

Book: The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield

Reference: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development for Smart People

What about when Do-ocracy goes wrong?

• You end up doing it all yourself
• Volunteers that are hurting (process, team, decision-making, etc). Sometimes you have to "fire" volunteers
• People don’t communicate and/or holding resentment can poison the success overall
• Be aware so that you can catch this early in the game
• One approach is to categorize late resentment comments as "data invalid"  -- they should be presented at a relevant point when action can be taken

If you want something, put it out to the universe but as specifically as possible

What about commitment?

Are you hearing the advice given?  Are you at a point where you are capable of hearing the advice? This is key.