Where & when we meet?

As a full remote team, our main meeting space is online, but it is the warmest on the Zoom platform, like we are sitting around the bonfire, definitely the coolest, like you are having your own music studio room, and/or the most chill, like having a casual walk in the spring forest - our oikos virtual office (VO). Following the link below you will find yourself in our main meeting place online, used by both oI team and the oikos community. https://zoom.us/j/2032030203

Everyone is encouraged to drop-in during their working hours, even if they don't have a meeting at the moment. You can hang out in the main room to chat with fellow team members, or join one of our breakout rooms for some co-working (breakout room 'music in the air' is usually the place ).

In this beautiful space we meet as a whole team on a weekly basis, to reconnect with each other, touch points on important updates & requests, share advice on specific topic, and empower & inspire each other.

Sub-circles within our organizational structure are meeting separately, and the frequency and the actors involved depend on the needs of the initiative/project and the sub-circle itself.

Meeting structure

Stressing the importance of personal relationships for our work - a new set of formats that put that into the focus. Every week on Fridays, the International team will gather for a moment around the bonfire. We prepared a set of alternating formats which should be adaptive to our needs & are there for us to play with. It remains the principle that we alternate the facilitation & team members can step up to take a lead as we move :)

Up & beyond, there are weekly opportunities to connect to the wider community in the oikos AGORA: Every Tuesday, we have accessible formats for everyone - and it would be great if all could show up here at least once a month.

Special meeting formats:

• Focus Calls -

• Monthly Meetings -

• TEAM (strategy) Days -

TO BE CONTINUED AFTER THE WORKSHOP :)

Meeting culture

Setting up meetings and inviting people:

How we use Google Calendar

Why we meet

xxx

General Meeting Processes

Starting at the right place

The beginning of a meeting sets the mood. You may use the following practices:

• Check-in rounds: Participants share how they feel in the moment, as they enter. This helps all to listen within, to their bodies and sensations, and to build awareness. Naming an emotion is often all it takes to deal with it. Thus, this practice helps participants let go of distractions while supporting everyone to be present for the current meeting.

• A minute of silence: to ground people in the moment.

• Reference & Reflection: Meetings may start with at short reading that one person has prepared. After a few moments of silence, participants share the thoughts this has sparked.

• Appraisal round: Everyone shares a brief story of someone they had recently thanked. This highlights possibility, gratitude, celebration, and trust.

Setting an agenda & deciding on important roles for the meeting might be very useful.

The 3 roles of collective intelligence

In order to ensure effective meetings, different roles can be distributed between the participants:

The roles should be fixed before the meeting starts and can be distributed flexibly, to the preference of the group.

Keeping on track

Additional practices to keep intention and attention in the meeting:

• Purpose Reminder: A volunteer holds a pair of bells. If the holder feels ground rules are not being respected, she/he can make them sing. No one may speak until the sound has died out. During the silence, all can reflect on the question: "Am I in the service to the topic we are discussing?”

• 'Talking stick': use an artifact to regulate turn-taking, slow down the speed of conversation, and increase the quality of listening.

• Internal/External facilitator: A facilitator may be used when there are specific requirements to fulfill.

Ending meetings

Check-out rounds at the end of the meeting are a natural complement to the initial check-in round. They leave everyone with a sense of the impact of the meeting. A moment of silence is another way to reflect and conclude.