Last month, our Founder Mark said “bella ciao” to Shared Assets after 14 years leading the organisation from “think and do” consultancy to movement building infrastructure supporting partners across the land justice system through convening, research, advice and support.
His departure marked the conclusion of an intentional transition period during which the team explored what leadership meant to them, and what felt like the right shape, structure, and team for the next era of Shared Assets. We wrote about some of this last year in blogs on bridging between systems and organisational design. What emerged was a non-hierarchical, sociocratic organisation which sees us organised into four organisational circles (People and Culture, Finance and Funding, Business Planning and Strategy, and Governance) alongside a whole Team circle.
The team were deeply committed to distributing power, and determined not to replicate the oppressive structures around us within the organisation. This meant doing the work to reimagine relationships and resist the urge to “snap back” into an extractive mindset in a moment of organisational re-set (with brilliant support from NEON’s OrgBuilders). Not easy to do, but ultimately, the hope that kept us on course was that we might model the liberation and justice that we are also working towards in the land system.
And so it was fitting that this all happened alongside the development of a new strategy and Delivery Plan that delved into what role(s) Shared Assets is positioned to play within a wider land justice movement. We surfaced five systems-level outcomes that we are working towards, and looked at how we could align our limited resources to these outcomes.
As we marked the transition to shared leadership with a small team gathering at House of Annetta, Mark gifted the team some parting wishes to carry them forward. Audacity. Democracy. Community. Humility. Solidarity.
Resourcing this work has never been easy but we are so grateful for the continued generosity of friends, funders and supporters. We hope that holding these gifts close will serve the team, the organisation and the movement as we step into a new era, with a determination to meet the moment that we’re living in, knowing that land justice can unlock social, ecological and economic justice for us all.
Reach out to us if you have ideas for collaboration, funding or convening, we’d love to hear from you!
Caio - Advice and Support
Christabel - Movement Building
Janna - Data for Social Justice
Kim - Research
Hannah - Resourcing and Relationships