# The Circle begins

This is the culture-building phase — the part of the journey where a group of individuals becomes a Circle. It’s about developing a high-trust, resilient core team, with **effectiveness** and **equivalence** as guiding principles.

The work is personal, collective, and foundational. You’re not just preparing to take action — you’re shaping the *way* that action will happen.

***

## What this phase includes

Over roughly four weeks, Circle Founders take part in:

* **Ten 2-hour group sessions**
* **Weekly one-to-one conversations** with each founder
* Reflective work, skills development, shared learning, and visioning
* Equal Care working alongside founders as **equal partners**, recognising that every person brings unique strengths, lived experience, and insight

This part of the journey is designed to produce a Circle with a strong internal culture — one that can hold complexity, adapt to change, and build meaningful, lasting relationships.

## What happens during this time?

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="🫱 Meet one another. Properly" %}
Before roles or responsibilities, we start with relationships. These sessions create space for:

* Deep listening and mutual introduction
* Sharing lived experience and different perspectives
* Building a foundation of respect and trust

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="🧭 Clarify what’s possible" %}
We work together to:

* Understand each person’s availability, capacity, and strengths
* Set shared intentions and practical goals for the next stage
* Agree on tools, ways of working, and what success looks like
* Use sociocratic techniques to make shared decisions
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="🧠 Learn together" %}
We introduce the **Equal Care model**, share its history, and reflect on what we’re still exploring. Learning sessions include:

* Culture-building workshops
* Conversations about power, privilege, and inclusion
* Skill-building in facilitation, decision-making, and governance
* Exploration of sociocracy in practice

This isn’t about planning the work yet — it’s about deciding **how** the Circle will work together, even when things get hard.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

## What we commit to

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="🪞 Make personal promises" %}
We support each Circle member to create a [**Radical Candour Agreement**](/equal-cares-model/radical-candour.md)**,** which is a personal statement about:

* How they like to give and receive feedback
* How they want to be supported
* What they need from others when things go wrong
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="🤝 Make partnership promises" %}
We facilitate a co-created **partnership agreement** between Equal Care and the new Circle. This sets out:

* Shared values
* Mutual responsibilities
* What support will look like, and what independence will mean
  {% endtab %}
  {% endtabs %}


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