Sociocracy 3.0 (S3) – brings you an extensive collection of patterns and practices that have proven helpful for organisations for improving performance, alignment, fulfilment and wellbeing. The modular approach makes S3 adaptable to any organisational size or structure, unlike similar approaches like classic Sociocracy and Holacracy.

The origin of Sociocracy 3.0

Classic Sociocracy dates back to 1851 and was first put into practice with the Quakers a few years later. In 2008 Brian Robertson released a branded version with the attempt to adapt traditional practices to the business world. This attempt was only partially successful since the complete model is only suitable for certain organizational environments.

Sociocracy 3.0 however integrates not only elements of both practices but also other patterns and practice from Non-Violent Communication, Lean, Agile etc. The modular approach makes it applicable to any organizational environment and 7 principles ensure that the organization integrates them in a horizontal manner.

Seven key principles

Sociocracy is built on seven principles that shape organisational culture. Understanding these principles is helpful for adopting Sociocracy 3.0 patterns. Practicing Sociocracy 3.0 helps people appreciate the essential value that these core principles bring, both to individuals and to organisations.

Effectiveness: Devote time only to what brings you closer towards achieving your objectives.

Consent: Do things in the absence of reasons not to them.

Empiricism: Test all assumptions through experiments, continuous revision and falsification.

Continuous Improvement: Change incrementally to accommodate steady empirical learning.

Equivalence: Involve people in making and evolving decisions that affect them.

Transparency: Make all information accessible to everyone in an organisation, unless there is a reason for confidentiality.

Accountability: Respond when something is needed, do what you agreed to and take ownership for the course of the organisation.

What is the benefit of Sociocracy 3.0?

  • S3 helps you discover how to best reach your objectives and navigate complexity, one step at a time, without the need for radical reorganisation or a big change initiative.
  • S3’s core principles and patterns help to free potential, supporting system wide, continuous improvement.
  • Methods to facilitate collaborative processes, draw on the collective intelligence, insights and creativity of teams, and guarantee the potential for equivalence in decision making.
  • Implement and scale agile governance processes across multiple domains, build reflexivity and nurture positive organisational evolution.
  • New tools that you can take with you and implement tomorrow and that are completely compatible & complementary to SCRUM and agile methods.

Sociocracy 3.0 training courses

All material and information related to Sociocracy 3.0 are available free of charge.
Click here to visit the Sociocracy 3.0 website and find out more.


This content is a derivative of “Sociocracy 3.0 – All Patterns Explained” by James Priest and Bernhard Bockelbrink, used under CC BY. “SenseTribe Consulting” is licensed under CC BY by Mira Bangel & Hugo Lopes.