Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Populating Committees (Circles)

[Mac Thomson (macthomson]

Info on our team structure can be found in our Teams agreement and Decision 
Making and Meetings agreement. See links below.

For the most part, teams operate efficiently. Almost all community decisions 
have been delegated to teams so very few decisions are made by the plenary (5 
to 10 per year and many of those are done via email — see our Posted Decision 
Proposal process in our Decision Making and Meetings agreement).

Probably our biggest challenge with teams is getting enough volunteers to serve 
on the teams and get the work done.


Teams agreement
https://www.heartwoodcohousing.com/teams.html


Decision Making and Meetings agreement
https://www.heartwoodcohousing.com/decision-making--meetings.html


Cheers,
Mac

-- 
Mac Thomson

Heartwood Cohousing
Southwest Colorado
http://www.heartwoodcohousing.com


"Discussion is an exchange of knowledge;
  argument is an exchange of ignorance."
                      - Robert Quillen
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> On Oct 23, 2024, at 3:50 AM, R Philip Dowds via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Cohousing Friends —
> 
> Like most cohos, Cornerstone in Cambridge MA is self-managed, and organizes 
> its volunteers into “committees” (circles).  All our committee meetings 
> operate according to published agendas and minutes, and are open to anyone 
> who wants to attend.  Where we may be atypical is that, while our committees 
> do have meetings with attendees, they mostly don’t have selected or appointed 
> members with delegated powers or duties.  In the interests of full 
> equivalence and maximum participation, anyone who shows up for a meeting is 
> equally empowered to participate in the decision-making of the group.  For 
> meetings committed to consensus (unanimity), making decisions is sometimes 
> arduous and unpleasant, even impossible.
> 
> So my questions to each and all are …
>      (1) How do you populate your committees (circles) with members?  What 
> kind of election / selection / ratification process do you use?  And …
>      (2) In general, is your approach to committee membership working well 
> for you?  Or are you still struggling with some unresolved controversies of 
> selection, empowerment, exclusivity, trust, or whatever?
> 
> Thanks,
> Philip Dowds
> Cornerstone Cohousing
> 
> 
> 
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