Beyond Command & Control: A Governance Shift for 21st-Century Organizations

Your organization is built around a shared vision of a better world. You are committed to making a positive impact. This mission has brought together great people with big hearts willing to commit their talents to something greater than themselves. And yet, for some reason, cooperation does not go smoothly.

Despite the shared goals, you see them differently and struggle to agree on how to achieve them. As a result:

• Meetings get longer and cause more and more frustration.
• Difficult emotions emerge.
• Some begin to exhibit authoritarian behavior; others give in and lose energy and the desire to act.

“[T]here are businesses that already operate with the deep commitment to egalitarian practices and only need the system to build practices around it.” (Ted Rau, Sociocracy for All)

The reason might be that your joint efforts lack an appropriate governance structure. And when you don't intentionally design that structure, you inevitably fall into old familiar ruts - command and control, ego-driven, authoritarian ways of working together. Yet, there's another way.

If you've found yourself in the above, whether you're in NGO, business, education, activism, or just planning to build your organization, we invite you to a free interactive webinar where you'll learn:

• Why management is so important, especially in today’s complex world, and how it affects engagement, creativity, and willingness to act, which translates into results.
• The most common ways of management, and what are their advantages and disadvantages.
• What is sociocracy, and why we believe it is the operating system for 21st-century organizations.

About the Presenters

Yolanda van Gellecum is an independent social researcher and accredited sociocracy facilitator based in Brisbane, Australia. She is a member of Co-operative Bonds, a co-operative of freelancers dedicated to advancing the co-operative economy. Yolanda also serves on the board of the New Economy Network Australia (NENA), where she advocates for fairer and more sustainable economic systems. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Social Science in Applied Social Research. Yolanda completed Sociocracy for All’s Academy Level 1 course in 2024, undertook Level 2 training the same year, and is currently working towards her Trainer-level qualification. Yolanda convenes the Oceana Sociocracy Community of Practice for co-housing communities and is a support trainer in Academy Level 1. Yolanda regards sociocracy as a foundational tool for change-making—supporting shared power, collective responsibility, and the creation of life-serving systems. She can be contacted at yolanda@bonds.coop.

Olga Kołdej is a soft skills trainer, business coach, and consultant specializing in change adaptation, strengths-based collaboration, dynamic governance, and resilience building. She fosters emotional intelligence, empathetic communication, and agility in purpose-driven individuals, teams, and organizations. Her work is defined by self-leadership, meaningful impact, and a focus on values and natural talents. Olga helps brave, purpose-driven organizations, teams, and individuals navigate a rapidly changing world by transforming the way they work on three levels: Personal Growth: Increasing self-awareness, habit transformation, and personal leadership development through coaching and mentoring. Team Development: Effective strengths-based collaboration, conflict resolution, and future skill cultivation through workshops, facilitation, and tools like NVC and action learning. Organizational Evolution: Self-organization, building a value-driven culture, and structural innovation using frameworks such as sociocracy and holacracy. You can connect with her through her website (https://olgakoldej.com/), email (olga@olgakoldej.com), and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-koldej/).

Elandriel Lewis is the lead consultant for Intentionalit-E Solutions, LLC, the Senior Manager of Early Learning and Training for the United Way of Greater Nashville, and an adjunct professor at Nashville State Community College. In these roles, she works with educators and leaders to ensure healthy workplace and school cultures that support lifelong educational and personal success for all members of the community. Elandriel focuses much of her work on emotional intelligence skills and trauma-informed practices to equip communities to support a just and equitable future for all. Elandriel can be contacted at elandriel@intentionalit-e.com.