Make Things That Matter
Make Things That Matter
#10 Susan Basterfield: decentralized team structures and participatory decision-making
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#10 Susan Basterfield: decentralized team structures and participatory decision-making

Susan Basterfield

Susan Basterfield is a member and foundation director of Enspiral, a network of people and organizations at the forefront of the global self-organizing movement.

My sincere hope is that this conversation plants a seed in your mind which grows over time, and introduces you to some new ideas of what's possible for healthy power dynamics and practices within an organization, within a community, and that it's possible to create real community and real results at the same time. Some topics we cover:

  • how an organization can work without bosses through the practices of self management

  • what consensus actually means — hint, it's not what you probably think it is!

  • and, how with a transparent and participatory governance system, how you can take everyone's opinion into account and actually still make decisions and get things done

  • the evolution of the Enspiral network and the principles that underlie all the practices involved

  • how to approach product development in an organic, bottom-up 

  • some of the common criticisms to self-management and decentralized system of governance

  • why the breakthrough of self-management and participatory governance are ideas whose time has come

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, or Youtube.


Links & resources mentioned

Make Things That Matter
Make Things That Matter
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