4. 🎡 Diplomate

The role of the Leader is to: • oversee operations of the Circle • communicate the interests and decisions of the Circle’s broader Circle. The leader makes time-sensitive operational decisions. Since decision-making on policy is done by consent, the leader operates within the frame of policy that the circle is giving. Part of the operational leadership is to hold the processes and to pay attention to the whole of the circle. What needs doing next? Are circle members doing what they agreed to do? Who needs a check-in, and what might be needed so operations can run more smoothly? What comes from a broader circle that needs to happen here? (In the case of ELC – what comes from the coach that needs to be known/done in the ELC?) I like the image of a construction site: the building plan is the policy. The building activities are operations; every piece of sheet rock needs to be aligned with the building plan. The leader is aware of the policy and makes sure stuff gets done. Somebody has to pay attention to the whole. As another example, imagine a membership circle. Any operation happens within the policy framework given by the membership circle. The operational activities of a membership circle might include outreach, orientations and ongoing education. The circle sets who is responsible for communication with people contacting the organization seeking information about membership and how that is handled. The leader makes sure this actually happens by checking in with people or doing whatever level of management is needed to make sure things happen smoothly.