Many Agile transformations settle for trading old ways of working for newer ones, but leave dysfunctional power hierarchies untouched. Businesses have mistaken agile for a delivery methodology, rather than the disruptive and emergent practice that it is supposed to be. Agile itself is part of the problem however; its strengths are not in scaling governance and policy-making - two processes that are crucial for organisational effectiveness and employee engagement.

Agile has a kindred spirit in Sociocracy - a collaborative decision-making and governance system. With shared roots in systems theory, Agile and Sociocracy have a common language, emphasise human connections, and focus on effective outcomes. By utilising its core principles of effectiveness, equivalence, and transparency, Sociocracy has the power to evolve businesses organically.

In this workshop, Erin and Nick will provide an overview of the shared goals and concerns of the agile movement and sociocracy, and introduce the audience to the concepts and practices of sociocracy in an interactive session. With this knowledge, lasting transformative and evolutionary change can be introduced at organisations, large and small. They will also explore the regenerative design of social permaculture and why it ought to be a goal of any 21st Century business.

Organisations and Leaders seeking innovation and agility should consider complimenting their agility with the processes and principles of sociocracy. We would love to share these insights with you!

Erin Young is a consultant, trainer, mediator, and facilitator. Collaborative decision-making and governance tools (Sociocracy) and holistic design for people systems (Social Permaculture) are her primary frameworks; all nature-inspired and informed.

Nick Emery is an Agile consultant and coach, Scrum Master, and Systems Thinker. His understanding of complex systems and culture has formed through experience, research, and post-grad studies in Sociology.

The Lean and Agile movements thrive upon the adoption of a certain mindset. Living the beliefs and values of that mindset is all that is asked of us as practitioners. (That, and working software!) However, while Agile and Lean methods have become mainstream, the Mindset is often the missing ingredient, preventing teams and organisations from getting the full benefit of their practices.

This talk explores how to coach a mentality by drawing upon those mainstream technical practices, and combining those insights through meaningful dialogue.

The 'soft' social sciences (anthropology, sociology, economics, cultural studies) inform many areas of the professional/ business realm. Think of how we construct the ideas of leadership, motivation, diversity, workplace relations and politics, or teamwork. Each is based to some degree on the research and findings of social science studies.

This talk will attempt to draw some parallels between humanities and the current thinking espoused by practitioners in the world of Lean, Agile and Systems Thinking. What can these disciplines teach us about the Agile mindset and Lean and Systems Thinking, and how can you expand upon your knowledge by exploring the vast wisdom and insights offered by the soft sciences?

(Nick holds a PostGrad Dip in Sociology and has found that knowledge to be directly transferrable to his career as an AgilePM/ Iteration Manager/ Scrum Master).