Sociocratic transparency means everyone gets a piece of the leadership. Some people hearing that idea think, “Uh hum, there’s got to be a trick to it! The boss is always bringing in a new trick to make us think we’re important and have a real voice in the action – like calling clerks at Walmart ‘Associates’ rather then ‘Employees.'”
Sociocracy doesn’t get rid of tricks! It simply shares the trick. Sociocracy is a trick for everyone.
So, how does Sociocracy create a system to share the tricks? That is, how does it keep information transparency so that someone can’t use secrets to quietly gain power over others? The pattern for solving this question is called: Freedom of Information Gathering.
The information required for decision-making is freely accessible to individuals. Free availability of information does not mean that information is distributed to all individuals. It only means that there will be no insurmountable barriers when information is gathered. A circle may take a consent decision, however, to (temporarily) withhold certain information (“black box”).
This pattern enables each individual to obtain the required information for steering. As all individuals in the organization take part in steering by way of their circles, all individuals must have the required information at their disposal.
