Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Project Coordination

[jennifer Gates (gates_jennifer]

Hello Sheila and all,

I'm a six-year member of and two-year paid project coordinator for Cascadia 
Commons in Portland, Oregon.  The dual role is inherently challenging, even 
though our group is great!  It helps that our group has been very stable.

My agreement with the group is based on the principles of 'policy 
governance', a system of John Carver, for boards of directors relating to 
CEOs, particularly of non-profits.  There's a website about it.  I heartily 
recommend this approach: it clarifies expectations, increases buy-in, gives 
detail-oriented group members a structure for pursuing their goals, probably 
will give you some room to manuever, etc.  Can't describe it all here, but 
this might help.

I'm accountable to outcomes / goals.  I can be as creative and use my best 
judgement as long as certain negatives don't occur.  There are lots of these 
limits on how I do things.  The limits are phrased in the negative, to make 
clear that I don't have to spend time fostering the positive version of each 
one of them, I just have the simpler job of avoiding the negatives.  There 
are only two simple goals, so I can focus and really be effective on those.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN PROJECT COORDINATOR & COHOUSING GROUP:

OUTCOMES / GOALS (your job may be broader or narrower or different.)

A. The built project meets as many as possible of the design/construction 
goals of the group, as written ______.

B. Given the marketing efforts of the group as a whole, investors have 
minimal ultimate losses. (This incorporates the cost-effectiveness of all 
financial transactions.)

LIMITATIONS
1. Avoid imprudence.
2. Be neither unethical nor unprofessional.  Minimize detriments to 
Cascadia's public image.  Minimize frustration experienced by bankers, 
architects, contractors, etc.
3. Don't waste resources or opportunities.  Don't take over work that had 
been done by volunteers without weighing the pros & cons.
4a. Prevent late-breaking or untimely disclosures of information to the 
group.
4b. Don't disappoint homebuyers in their expectations that Cascadia 
explicitly fostered.
5. Don't leave Cascadians who are able & willing to serve on committees out 
of decision-making on significant issues.  Don't ignore group opinion.  
Don't single-handedly make aesthetic nor value decisions, nor allow them to 
be made by inaction/default.  E.g. trade-offs between cost / aesthetic / 
environmental considerations.
6. Don't create booby-traps for the future regarding the logistic, 
philosophical, or precedent-setting implications of decisions.
7. Avoid negative effects on Cascadia's functioning as a community.
8. Avoid burning out Cascadians with too much information, too many tasks, 
or too many decisions to make.

It's important that your group develop its own goals (might be in more 
detail than these) and its own limitations on how you proceed.  You should 
report regularly to the group or a committee on each of the outcomes and 
each of the limitations.

When someone(s) wants to direct your work, ask them make a proposal to the 
group to add to or revise the agreement.  Set a committee that handles such 
proposals.  They can propose a LITTLE more detailed version of a  outcome / 
limitation; or they can propose to add a new outcome or limitation; or they 
can propose to revise an outcome / limitation.  If the group agrees, great.  
If not, you can stay focussed on fulfilling the original agreement.


> From: "Sheila Braun" <sheila [at] shelburnefallscohousing.org>
> Reply-To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> To: <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: [C-L]_Project Coordination
> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 15:07:43 -0400
>
> As founder and project coordinator for Shelburne Falls Cohousing in 
> Vermont,
> I too was glad to see your post. Our group has grown very fast, and
> expectations seem to be shifting constantly. People who don't know what's
> going on seem to have lots of opinions about how it all should be done.
> Thanks for letting us know that you can get past all of that to living
> happily together.
>
> Sheila Braun
> Sheila [at] shelburnefallscohousing.org
> www.shelburnefallscohousing.org
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From:   cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org
> [mailto:cohousing-l-admin [at] cohousing.org]  On Behalf Of Lashbrook, Stephan
> Sent:   Thursday, April 12, 2001 2:22 PM
> To:     'cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org'
> Subject:        RE: [C-L]_Cohousing as a rigorous way to live
>
> Joyce:
>
> So glad you weathered that and can feel good about it today.
>
> It's clear to me that big things do not happen in our world unless someone
> is willing to step forward and make them happen.  Sometimes it's a pain in
> the butt.  Lots of times feelings are hurt.
>
> I know you to be one of those people who steps up to the challenges, takes
> some risks, steps on some toes, and still makes things happen.
>
> Cohousing would be going nowhere without that sort of drive.
>
> Good to see your message on here.
>
> Stephan
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: JoycePlath [at] aol.com [mailto:JoycePlath [at] aol.com]
> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2001 8:42 AM
> To: neesie [at] sonic.net; cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject: Re: [C-L]_Cohousing as a rigorous way to live
>
>
> It is reassuring to read that others have a difficult time during the first
> year of a new CoHousing experience.  For me, after eight years of planning
> and nurturing Marsh Commons it was painful to move in and discover that a
> substantial portion of my fellow co housers resented my efforts as project
> manager (fortunately everyone seems to really enjoy the built environment).
>
> The first year was a lot like a bad marriage with undercurrents of
> resentment
> that made even small negative exchanges intensely hurtful.  At that time we
> had eight of our twelve homes completed.
>  Six months ago the last four homes have been occupied, giving us a 
> healthy
> twenty to thirty folks at dinner three times a week, and new energy to
> complete assorted projects.  The center of gravity has shifted and suddenly
> it is a very special place to live.
> A month ago I had knee surgery and was amazingly well cared for by my
> community.  There were flowers, meals, books, bottles of wine and help
> drinking it, trips to the bank, postoffice, and pharmacy, and the use of a
> bicycle delivery service for anything I needed during the first few weeks.
> During the time that I could not walk, it was comforting to know that with
> the phone next to my bed I could get help if needed it with in a couple of
> minutes from half a dozen neighbors.
> Recently there has been a casual group that goes to the movies on Tuesday
> night after dinner,  Another group sings, with the help of two guitars one
> night a week. In a week or two our recreation room will be done and we will
> celebrate with a dance party for a couple who are both turning forty.  This
> Sunday we will have our first egg hunt and brunch with many friends are
> planning to attend.
> We still have some healing to do from earlier experiences but gradually our
> level of trust is improving. I have gone from a position that I might well
> have to move out (that bad marriage feeling) to a sense that this indeed is
> growing into a neighborhood that is caring, supportive, spontaneous, and
> fun.
>  It took two years of living here to begin to feel this way.
>
> Joyce Plath
> Marsh Commons, Arcata, California
> JoycePlath [at] aol.com
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