Operations Meeting

Operations meetings happen once per quarter. The purpose of these meetings is to provide regular updates to attending staff on active projects and roles, and process any related discussion items or proposals. The list of items to check in about is dynamic and can change based on the status of individual projects, tasks, or roles. Each sub-Circle is responsible for adding or removing items within its domain to the check-in list as needed.

While all Core Staff are welcome to attend the monthly Operations Meetings, only one member of each Operations Sub-Circle is required to attend the Operations meetings. When the designated person is unable to attend, they shall make every effort to find a replacement from the affected Circle.

NOTE: Between meetings, anyone filling a Role on a meeting checklist can add project updates in Asana. This will help retain information (i.e. help us to not forget things!) and make our meetings more efficient. In fact, you’re very much encouraged to type in updates or proposals before the meeting!

Large Circle Logistics

The facilitator and secretary roles for General and Operations Circles will rotate every 4 months. The current General Circle Secretary is responsible for ensuring that that the rotation schedule is up to date and is organized in a way that does not force one person to take on a secretary or facilitator role in two circles at the same time.

Meeting and Proposal Process 

Here’s a step-by-step guide for running a meeting at the Law Center!

Discussion: Discussion is a process that allows any staff member to solicit collective input, feedback, or participation from other staff members to help them fulfill any of their roles at SELC.

Proposal: A Proposal is a recommendation to take a specific action or series of actions, which a staff member otherwise does not have authority to take, made by that staff member to all other members of a particular Circle.

1. Appoint Note Taker

   1. While the Secretary of a Circle is the default note taker, someone else can volunteer to take notes in her or his stead. During the proposal process, the note taker is responsible for recording questions, answers, and reactions in the comments section in Asana as accurately as possible. In particular, the note taker should clearly record whether the proposal was adopted, tabled, or withdrawn in the “comments” section of the Asana task, and accurately and clearly record any amendments to the proposal in the “description” section of the Asana proposal task.

2. Personal Check-In:

   1. Go in round: Each person tell a highlight and a lowlight of your week.

   2. Facilitator: If needed, ask that discussion and cross-talk be saved for after the meeting.

3. Perma Check-in (if relevant): These are items that need to be checked-in about verbally at each meeting. Facilitator asks assigned staff person to provide update.

4. Elections: If any elected roles are up for renewal, conduct an election according to the election process noted below.

5. External Requests: Each Circle will consider project/accountability/task requests from staff outside the Circle through the External Requests task in Asana. If the Circle does not take action on the request, the request can be brought to the General Circle.

6. Old Business: Review any old business. If any action needs to be taken, ask responsible person what support they need to do so.

7. Discuss/Proposals: We process proposals and discussion items one by one, usually taking a break in the middle of the meeting.

   1. Add Proposals (Go in round): Each person calls out one agenda item, by giving it a 1-3 word title. The note taker writes items into the New Proposal & Discuss list in Asana. Go in round until people run out of items.

   2. Facilitator: Ask whether any proposals are particularly time sensitive. At discretion, either go in the order of agenda items proposed, or order proposals by time sensitivity. Ask the person who proposed an agenda item: “What is your proposal?”

   3. Proposer: State a proposal.

   4. Question/Reaction Round (Go in round)

      1. For proposals: For proposals, each person asks one clarifying question, until exhausted or Facilitator decides to move on, and then shares one reaction until exhausted or Facilitator decides to move on.

         1. A clarifying question seeks to understand the content of the proposal, not to comment on its merits. Facilitator has discretion to test validity of clarifying questions. The person bringing the proposal responds to each valid question or delegates response to someone else present at the meeting.

         2. A reaction is a comment specific to the proposal or discussion item and is usually offered in first or third person: “I wonder if,” “I worry that.”

      2. For discuss: For discuss, each person asks one clarifying question or offers one reaction to the topic. Continue around until people have exhausted their questions and feedback, or time runs out.

   5. Objection Round/Needs Met (Go in round): 

      1. For proposals: Facilitator asks the person bringing the proposal to restate it with or without any amendments. Then go around and ask each person if they have an objection. If none, the proposal is adopted. If yes, see process described below.

      2. For discuss: Ask the proposer whether they would like more feedback or whether their needs are met. Move forward accordingly.

      3. If there are objections: Facilitator asks the group if anyone would like to bring a modified proposal, and the question and reaction rounds begin again.

      4. Integration Process: If the objections have not been addressed by a modified proposal, an integration process can be used outside of the meeting. This is an optional meeting where the person bringing the objection, the Proposer, and any other staff can meet to discuss the proposal and objections further with the intent of finding a resolution that meets the needs and concerns of everyone present at the integration. The revised proposal may then be brought at the next GC meeting.

   6. Delegating Unprocessed Proposals: If, towards the end of a GC meeting, there are many unaddressed proposals, the Facilitator will create a space for anyone with a pending proposal to request that another Circle process it so that it doesn't become a pickled pepper sitting in the list of pending proposals. Anyone may object on any basis.

   7. Closing Activity: At the end of each meeting the Facilitator chooses and leads the group in an activity to close the meeting.

Important Note: Any proposal can be revisited and modified at any subsequent meeting, allowing the group to tweak things constantly. This means that adopting a proposal is not intended to be a huge commitment because it can always be modified.

Threshold for Objection

An objection is effective if it meets all of the criteria defined in (1) through (3) below:

1. Proposal Harms Mission of the Organization: The Proposal would move the organization backward in its mission or harm the organization.

   1. Helpful references: The objection should not be just triggered by a better idea or a potential for further improvement, but because the Proposal would move the Circle or organization backwards in its mission or harm the organization. 

   2. This is intentionally broad and open for interpretation. Try it out!

2. Objection is specific to the Proposal: The objection specifically addresses the content of the Proposal. That is, the objection would not exist if the Proposal were dropped.

3. Proposal Limits Circle Member's Role: The Objector is a member of the Circle.

Gradient Voting Process for Major Organizational Decisions

The General Circle and Stewardship Committee will use a gradient voting system for new budgeting decisions that require an expenditure of $10,000 or more (examples include salary, benefits, or major office remodeling), OR upon request by the person bringing the proposal. The intent of this gradient voting process is to provide staff with more options for registering their opinion on a proposal, and to encourage more thoughtful deliberation and therefore enhance the level of commitment and likelihood of success for those major GC and SC proposals that do move forward. 

Process:

1. Quorum - At the beginning of each meeting, assess whether we have quorum. Under this proposal, we are going to set quorum as 75% of active GC members or 75% of the 7 person Stewardship Committee. For example:

   1. 1. GC membership size: 13 → quorum is 10.

      2. GC membership size: 11 → quorum is 8. 

      3. Stewardship Committee of 7 → quorum is 5.

2. Proposal - brought by a staff member(s). 

3. Questions - until exhausted or facilitator deems we need to move on.

4. Straw poll - everyone votes in the Google Sheet Calculator at the same time.

5. Feedback - go around in circle to gather reactions. Continue around until people have exhausted their feedback, or time runs out.

6. (Optional) Restatement - Proposer integrates feedback and restates proposal as is or as amended with each round

7. Final Vote - everyone votes at the same time in the Google Sheet Calculator. The Secretary will then record results in Asana.

Here are the gradiated voting options:

1 = Support 

2 = Support with minor concerns

3 = Neutral

4 = Disagree, but willing to go with majority

5 = Strongly disagree

6 = Objection*

*The threshold for an objection remains the same, i.e. if the voter believes that the proposal would harm the organization or move the organization backwards in its mission. 

  8. Outcomes:

• 1. If there are any objections → proposal does not pass.

  2. If median < 3: Majority support or stand aside → the proposal passes.

  3. If median > 3: The proposal does not pass. A discussion about disagreement should follow, either at this or the next meeting. Proposer may incorporate feedback and revise the proposal at the next meeting.

Election Process

For those roles filled through an election, we use the following process:

1. Describe Role: First, the Facilitator must identify and describe the Role and proposed term for the election.

2. Fill Out Ballots: Each person then fills out a ballot to nominate whoever they believe is the best fit for the Role among all eligible candidates and, if they choose, a different term length. Each person must label the ballot with his or her own name and no one may abstain or nominate multiple people. No crosstalk, or the Facilitator will scold you.

3. Nomination Round: Once all ballots are dropped into the Lincoln Hat, the Facilitator reads out the nominations one at a time, with everyone present. The note taker tallies the results in Asana. The Facilitator goes in a round and asks each person why they nominated that individual and why they chose a different term length, if applicable. No crosstalk when people are expressing their rationale for choosing their nominee or the Facilitator will scold you. This is a space to express why each person thinks that their nominee is best suited for the role, its purpose, domains (if any), and accountabilities.

4. Nomination Change Round: Once all nominations are shared, the Facilitator administers a second nomination round. Each person fills out a second piece of paper with a nominee's name and term length. This person and term length can be different or the same as the first round. Anyone who changes their nomination may explain his or her reason for selecting a new candidate or term length, but no crosstalk or the Facilitator will scold you.

5. Nomination: Next, the Facilitator counts the nominations and makes a Proposal to elect the candidate with the most nominations and include a proposed specified term based on his or her discretion. If there is a tie for the most nominations, then the Facilitator may do any one of the following: 

   1. Blindly select one of the tied candidates randomly and propose that person; or 

   2. If only one of the tied candidates is self-nominated, propose that person; or 

   3. Redo Step 4 and require each person who nominated someone other than a tied candidate to change their nomination to one of the tied candidates, then continue back to this step.

Make a Proposal: Once the Facilitator makes a proposal to elect a candidate, the Facilitator conducts a round of objections. If the proposed candidate is present, the Facilitator must ask the candidate for objections last. If any objections are raised, the Facilitator may choose to follow the Integration Process or discard the proposal. If the Facilitator opts to discard the proposal, s/he must select another candidate using the options in Step 5 and propose the election of that candidate.

[Updated on 02/23/22 to include distinction between discussion and proposal items]

[Updated on 3/27/25 to reflect proposal of 3/25/25 allowing Stewardship Committee to use gradient voting]

Resource: Orientation to SELC's Governance Model