A low score in the Growth Outcomes Domain signifies an environment where individuals are unable to thrive due to insufficient support for personal growth, autonomy, development and inclusion. In general, a low score reflects a social climate where individuals struggle to thrive due to systemic barriers and power imbalances that limit their development and participation. Specifically, a low score reflects a social climate failing to embody the core values of sociocracy, such as shared power, transparency, and collaborative decision-making.
This situation is characterized by several key factors:
There is limited access to valued learning experiences and skill-building opportunities. Many individuals may feel left behind due to inequitable access to developmental resources exacerbating disparities and hindering overall personal growth.
Care and support workers experience frustration due to the lack of opportunities for professional growth or skill-building. It appears that only a select few have access to trainings or workshops, limiting overall development.
"I feel frustrated because I don't have many opportunities for professional growth or skill-building. It seems like only a few people get to attend trainings or workshops."
Care receivers report having limited opportunities to learn new things or develop their skills, feeling that their personal growth is not prioritized.
"I don't get much chance to learn new things or develop my skills. It feels like my growth isn't a priority."
Friends, family, and volunteers experience limited opportunities to learn and develop new skills.
"There aren't many opportunities for personal and professional growth for team members. It feels like key team member's development isn't a priority."
Circles with a low score have limited access to learning and development opportunities. Only a few individuals benefit from opportunities, leading to disparities in skill enhancement and personal growth. The environment does not support equitable personal development, with key roles often held by the same individuals, limiting broader participation.
"As a member of our circle, I’ve noticed we don’t really get many chances for learning and development. It feels like only a few people get these opportunities, which creates gaps in skill-building and personal growth.
"The environment here doesn’t support everyone equally, and it seems like the same people always hold the key roles, which limits broader participation."
Individuals likely experience minimal control over changes and decisions. The power dynamics are skewed, with unequal distribution of power among members of a team or circle. Consequently, their experiences, preferences and choices are often overlooked, leading to a lack of autonomy and personal agency.
Care and support workers often feel that their input is undervalued when it comes to making changes. They rarely have the opportunity to make decisions that can impact the care they provide.
"I often feel that my input isn't valued when it comes to making changes. I rarely get the chance to make decisions that can impact the care I provide."
Care receivers rarely have the opportunity to make decisions about their care, leading to feelings that their opinions do not matter.
"I rarely get to make decisions about my care. It feels like my opinions don't matter."
Decisions are often made without consulting or involving those directly affected, leaving family members, friends, and volunteers feeling that their voices, and those of their loved ones, are ignored.
"We notice that decisions are often made without consulting those directly affected. Our voices and the voices of those we care about are often ignored."
Circles with a low score provide limited opportunities for individuals to take control of their work and make positive changes happen. The experience of consent-based decision-making is undermined by wider power imbalances within and between circles restricting personal agency and autonomy.
"In our circle, it feels like we barely get any chances to take charge of our work or make things better. The whole consent-based decision-making thing gets buried under power struggles within and between circles, which really limits our ability to make decisions and work independently."
Self-reliance is poorly fostered. Individuals struggle to to fulfil their roles and manage their responsibilities independently, as power differentials remain unaddressed. This lack of autonomy can contribute to feelings of stress, helplessness and dependency among team members.
There is little emphasis on fostering self-reliance among care workers. They may feel overly dependent on management for decisions and support, hindering their ability to manage their own responsibilities and daily activities effectively.
"I feel micromanaged and a lack of autonomy within the care team. Decisions are made without my input, hindering my ability to use my judgment and provide the best care. This lack of independence is frustrating as I know I could contribute more if given the freedom to make decisions."
Care providers often perform tasks that care receivers are capable of handling themselves. As a result, care receivers become overly reliant on others for needs they could meet independently with appropriate support.
"I'm often dependent on others for my daily needs. I don't have the support I need to do things for myself"
There is little emphasis on fostering self-reliance among friends, family, and volunteers team members. They may feel overly dependent on care providers for guidance and support, hindering their ability to manage their roles and contribute effectively to the team.
"As part of the care team, we often feel there's not enough focus on helping us become self-reliant. We end up leaning too much on the care providers for guidance and support, which makes it hard for us to handle our roles and pitch in effectively.
"Being so dependent on care workers stops us from taking the initiative and building the skills we need to support each other, which affects how well we all work together."
Individuals in these circles lack independence and autonomy, which is critical for fostering an inclusive and participatory environment. The presence of substantial power imbalances indicates that decision-making is centralized, contradicting the sociocratic principle of distributed authority. The concentration of key roles among the same individuals prevents broader participation and hinders the equitable distribution of responsibilities and influence.
"In our circle, it feels like we don’t have much freedom or say in things, which makes it hard to create an inclusive and participatory environment. There are big power imbalances, and decision-making seems really centralized, which goes against what sociocracy is all about. The same people always seem to hold the key roles, which stops others from getting involved and sharing the responsibilities and influence."
Multi-stakeholder involvement and group membership participation are minimal. The environment may not support or facilitate active participation among the different stakeholders or members of the group, with many individuals feeling excluded from decision-making processes and social contexts. Power dynamics or a lack of sufficient support and resources significantly hinder all members to contribute meaningfully.
Care workers often feel excluded from social and organizational decision-making processes. Their voices are not heard, leading to a sense of disconnection and marginalization within the care environment.
"I don't feel included in the larger organizational decisions. My voice is often unheard, and I feel disconnected from the community."
Care receivers often feel excluded from social and organizational contexts. They have limited opportunities to participate actively in their team or the wider coop, leading to a sense of marginalization and isolation.
"I don't feel very included in my team or the wider co-op. I don't have many opportunities to voice my thoughts or participate in team discussions or important decisions ."
Family members, friends, and volunteers feel excluded from decision-making processes and co-op activities, struggling to feel part of the team and wider community when they are not heard.
"We feel excluded from the decision-making processes and team activities. It’s hard to feel part of the team or cooperative community when we aren't heard."
The group is struggling to create an environment that supports active involvement from all its members. This indicates that many individuals may feel excluded from decision-making processes and social interactions, undermining the core principles of sociocratic decision-making and participatory planning. It implies that the group's practices and structures may not be effectively fostering a sense of belonging and equal opportunity for all members to contribute and influence outcomes.
"In our circle, it feels like the environment doesn't really encourage everyone to take part actively. A lot of us feel left out of the decision-making processes and social interactions. It’s like some voices just aren’t being heard, which really goes against what we’re trying to achieve with sociocracy and participatory planning. It’s frustrating because it seems like only a few people are really involved while the rest of us are just on the sidelines."
Opportunities for acquiring new knowledge and skills are scarce. Continuous learning is not adequately supported, hindering personal and professional growth amongst team and circle members.
Opportunities for continuous learning and skills development are scarce. Care workers feel unsupported in acquiring new knowledge and competencies, which limits their personal and professional growth.
"There are hardly any opportunities for me to develop new skills. I feel stuck in my role without any real path for advancement."
Care receivers lack sufficient chances to learn new skills, feeling that their potential for personal growth is limited.
"I don’t have many chances to learn new skills. It’s like there’s no room for my personal growth."
Opportunities for continuous learning and skills development are scarce. Friends, family, and volunteers feel unsupported in acquiring new knowledge and competencies, which limits their personal growth and satisfaction.
"We see a lack of opportunities for people to learn and grow. This limits their potential and hinders the quality of life and quality of work teams can offer."
Circles with low score provide limited access to learning and skills development. Only a select few individuals have opportunities for personal and professional growth, leading to disparities in competency development. The environment does not support equitable learning and skill enhancement.
"In our circle, it feels like there's hardly any chance for learning and skills development. Only a few people seem to get opportunities for personal and professional growth, which creates a big gap in competency. The environment just doesn't support everyone equally when it comes to learning and improving skills."
Overall, a low score reflects a social climate where individuals struggle to thrive due to systemic barriers and power imbalances that limit their development and participation.
