The Circle begins
Approximately 4 weeks.
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?
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
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
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.
What we commit to
We support each Circle member to create a Radical Candour Agreement, 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
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
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