On 13 October 2022, Nicola Kriesel, Lysan Escher and Andreas Knoth attended the „Every voice matters“ online conference organised by Sociocracy for All and discussed our own transformation process:

How we have developed from a heroically led company with a big heart and a willingness to work as a team, through a post-heroic phase in which we also experienced a great deal of uncertainty and decisions that were made by the whole team were the best, or at least the safest, to a pan-heroic team in which we can all shine and trust in each other's abilities to make good decisions for everyone.
The subsequent discussion also focused on the ability to trust, and as we heard, this seems to have been a recurring theme throughout the entire conference.

If we understand sociocracy as a practice of self-organisation, then consensus decisions can make a significant contribution to building trust within the organisation. Not only does the ritualistic process bring with it a predictable routine, but the certainty of being heard and the assurance that there will be no exclusionary experiences when a serious objection is raised with regard to the common goal also contributes to building trust.
Nevertheless, in our experience, it is not enough to just speak up in a group (although that is definitely a good start!). You also need to have the courage to stand up for your own opinion, your own experience and your own arguments, and to present them to the team. This often sounds easier than it actually is.
And even though we at SOCIUS have enshrined consensus decision-making alongside advised decision-making in our statutes since last year, there are still situations in which we have to actively remind each other of our agreements in order to keep them alive.
We are happy to do so and have great confidence in the agreed procedures.