Cohousing-L Mailing List: Full Participation in Decision Making

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> But... I mean, I agree, but isn't it inevitable that some people aren't
> going to want to be as involved with the decision-making process, just by
> nature of their personality or whatever?  Without being disenfranchised by
> the community, that person automatically has less power (by choice, but
> still less power) than those who participate more fully and often?

Certainly when decisions are being made about the use of the baby room and
one neither has nor cares about babies, one shouldn't have to be involved in
the deciding between wall mounted vs free standing changing tables.

But the back side of letting people opt out of decision making is that you
lose their insight and their participation. Sometimes what appears to be
lack of interest is an indication of group dysfunction and shouldn't be
allowed to slide by without attention.

Perhaps the group is making too many decisions or not making them well.
People respond to burn out differently -- some withdraw and some work
harder. Its like getting tired at the end of a long run. Some runners will
stop and wait for a bus and others will run faster so they can get home
sooner. 

We have frequent complaints about email that I think are really evidence of
burnout. People don't want to hear it anymore. Enough with the parking gate
not working or Sally parking in Billy's space or moving the dumpster again.
Since email is the best way to reach everyone quickly and easily, it takes
the brunt of the complaints when the real complaint is that people are
burned out on decision making.

But when I see people withdrawing from information, I also see them letting
others do the work. It's much easier to avoid work that needs to be done if
you don't know anything about it.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org


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