Session materials from "A Culture of Leadership for Democratic Organizations," presented by Matt Hancock at NASCO Institute 2015.
--
As democratic organizations, co-ops operate at the intersection of market pressures and social values. In order to create mutual value for co-operators and the community, democratic organizations must also be profitable and competitive in the marketplace. Lessons from best practices in the United States, Spain and Italy point to the important role leadership plays in sustained co-op success. The understandings that co-op members or staff may have of traditional leadership hierarchies may be seen as a conflict with the unique mission of these democratic, social enterprises. These same co-ops may also find that there are too few resources available to help them find their own interpretations of these structures, or alternatives.
This workshop will focus on strategies for developing a culture of collective leadership in democratic organizations. Focusing on leadership culture allows co-operators to build, sustain and grow organizations that enhance workplace democracy and community values while being profitable and competitive in the marketplace. This interactive workshop provides participants with a framework for thinking about leadership in strong and healthy workplaces serving democratic organizations, as well as specific strategies and tools for developing and practicing collective leadership. In particular, this workshop will focus on ways of incorporating mentorship (staff-to-staff and staff-to-members) into the process of leadership development, and the vision of collective leadership.
