SEVEN ���RULES���
OF DEMOCRATIC ORGANISATIONS
1. TRANSPARENCY
The first is Transparency ��� of information, financials, agenda and
strategy. This results in smarter decisions throughout the company
- open book management, and even open salary information. The
simple reality is that high transparency results in a high trust culture.
2. DIALOGUE + LISTENING
Instead of the top-down monologue or dysfunctional silence
that characterizes most work places, democratic organizations are
committed to having conversations that bring out new levels of
meaning and connection. This means democratic organizations design
tools for engagement and processes for people to participate. No more
meetings where people put up with rubbish behaviour from a team
member on the one hand, or on the other are silenced by a manager
throwing their power around.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY
Democratic organizations point fingers, not in a blaming way but in
a liberating way. They are crystal clear about who is accountable to
whom and for what. Where there are no secrets about accountability
or performance, everyone is able to both take responsibility and to
hold each other to account when things are not done or not done
right.
4. INDIVIDUAL + COLLECTIVE
In democratic organizations, the individual is just as important as the
whole, meaning employees are valued for their individual contribution
as well as for what they do to help achieve the collective goals of the
organization.
5. CHOICE
Democratic organizations thrive on giving employees meaningful
choices. This might be in projects they are engaged with, or flexible
hours or working some hours from home. Choices add up to people
feeling valued and working in ways that deliver for the company.
6. INTEGRITY
Integrity is the name of the game, and democratic companies have a
lot of it. They understand that freedom takes discipline and also doing
what is morally and ethically right is a line every business walks. In a
democratic company, this line will be transparent and will be regularly
contested by people with different views within the agency.
7. DECENTRALIZATION
Democratic organizations make sure power is appropriately shared and
distributed among people throughout the organization. Distribution
of power includes decision making, resources allocation and mandate.
Democratic organisations are growing in NZ.
Boost New Media, a Wellington based web and software
development company, are part of WorldBlu an international
network of democratic organizations.
www.boost.co.nz
worldblu.com
Enspiral is a social enterprise incubator, also in Wellington,
and is structured as a collective with sophisticated systems for
whole group (60 people) decision making and transparency.
www.enspiral.com
One of the start-up companies at Enspiral is Loomio.
Their website says Loomio is an online tool for collaborative
decision-making.
���Groups of all sizes make better decisions when all voices
are heard, so we���re building a system that makes it easy and
efficient for anyone to participate in decisions that affect
them.���
loomio.org
Hierarchical organizations were designed for an age that is
gone. To create a kickass culture in your organization where
people are engaged and bring their whole self to work and
be a democratic workplace, the first easy step is to become
transparent.
Vivien Maidaborn
Director of Maidaborn, a consulting company working in places
where money and meaning meet.
maidaborn.com
www.h e rmagaz in e .co.n z | 57
