Recognition: concept implies hierarchy?

Posted on July 28, 2016 by vladepap

This week we visited an organization that was interested in social leadership and our take on what Julian calls the Social Age. It was a great opportunity for us to practice representing Sea Salt, in a Sea Salty way, showing and talking about Social Age ideas and explaining what we can do with them.

It was also a good opportunity for us to ‘do something’ with what we call the Sea Salt layers. It’s an idea that Julian has about our structure as an organization that we have taken and run with. A one page discussion paper has turned into a small book about what I call in general terms Sea Salt recognition. How do we recognize people who are engaged with us? How do we express the way we work together, with a view to building in ritual?

This week’s prototyping was about the wristbands from the Safari. Or rather what they represent. We thought about this together as a team during our coworking last week. The outcome is an agreed way of thinking about the many people who ‘want in’ so to speak, in one form or another.

As an organization that has tasked itself with representing, being on the edge of, the future of work, we think about culture, structure (or lack thereof) and our values intentionally. These layers are one representation of that. Beginnings of thinking about who is around us, who is ‘us’? They will evolve over time.

One of the questions that came up about this during coworking is, who are we to ‘reward’ engagement, to dole out recognition like pats on the head? Our challenge, in my opinion, is to recognize intentionally. I’m interested in giving people a way of showing the world, saying ‘Look at me, this is what I’m interested in at the moment, what I am engaged with.’ I’m not imagining I am bestowing any kind of honour. My intention is to recognize thoughts, ideas, and work in a similar vein. Perhaps it is ego-centric. Only trying it out will tell me how people will react though. And putting these ideas up here! Working out loud, inviting feedback and reactions.

Explorers are people we think of as having been introduced to the ideas around the Social Age and are beginning to ask questions about what this all means to them personally and to their organization. My intention is to gift wristbands during workshops or sessions we are invited to give, a physical representation of a widespread, global community of people.

Seafarers are Explorers or community members who are getting creative and building on Julian’s ideas around Social Age themes or learning methodology and run with them, building on them, applying them and challenging them or adapting them.

Adventurers are Explorers who are interested in working together, wanting to engage with Sea Salt because they see potential applications of these ideas in a specific context and see an opportunity to build something together.

——– (I don’t have a good name yet, help think of one!) are individuals who are contracted, who work or have worked with us on projects in specific roles.

Crewmates are people who are working on the day to day operations, highly engaged and committed to Sea Salt as an organization.

The intention is to have a consistent ritual around each of these, letting people know they are seen and appreciated. Is that condescending? Maybe. Experimentation will tell.