How It Works: Self-Governance Within Habitats for Happiness“With Great Freedom Comes Great responsibility” – SUB
Habitats for Happiness are autonomous, Self-managing organizations. They enjoy support from the DomeGaia Communities Network, but are largely independent and responsible for everything they do, including:
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The Advice Process
Every Active Full member of each Habitats for Happiness has an equal voice, and the Centers govern themselves using the Advice Process. Within the Advice process:
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[1] Leaders must be willing to surrender their power to the group. Once the process is underway, their voice has the same weight as anybody else’s. They must trust that the collective intelligence of the group can come up with better answers than they could on their own. |
Meetings are minimized in preference of an online decision making process so that when gatherings do occur, they are less about decision making and more about celebrating. Music, dance, sharing food, and other group activities that build relationships and contribute to the sense of fun & enjoyment of each other’s presence are highly valued. Communication tends to flow naturally during such events without feeling pressured, heavy or required.
Support & Online Decision Making ToolsThe Habitats for Happiness are supported by DomeGaia in a number of different ways:
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[2] It is expected that Regional coaches will eventually exist, who assist multiple communities, ideally many communities (up to 40) - upon request - so they don’t become overly involved in any one community. The ideal coach is highly experienced in self-management practices and has strong interpersonal skills. They assist only with the most important questions by looking for enthusiasm, strengths and existing capabilities within the team, & helping them empower themselves to solve their dilemma. |
"Sister" Communities
Habitats for Happiness are individually autonomous, but are also regarded as “Sister Communities”: They enjoy collaborative opportunities with each other on a request/accept basis, share the same Domegaia resource pools (such as Intranet access, workshop opportunities, knowledge repositories, etc.), and can offer each other expertise on specific topics so that the wisdom & knowledge of members from each community is accessible and sharable with all communities. Volunteers from one Center are eligible to join any Center (subject to that community’s agreements & normal membership process) and communities may establish exchange programs, resource pools & /or visitor program / policies for members wishing to travel or move from one Community to Another.