Jef Cumps on Sociocracy 3.0:

Self-management and consent in organizations

 

Jef Cumps is an expert in Sociocracy 3.0 and author of the book of the same name. He supports organizations in finding a balance between coaching and leadership, enabling them to work in a way that is both results-oriented and people-centered. On October 10, 2024, Jef delivered an exclusive session for the Shift & Grow community on distributing power and improving decision-making processes within organizations.

At Shift & Grow, everything revolves around connecting professional coaches and leaders who want to grow, challenge themselves, and explore new ways of collaborating. In this interview, Jef shares his vision on coaching and leadership, self-management, and what Sociocracy 3.0 can mean for your organization.

• Who is Jef Cumps?
• How did you enter the world of coaching and leadership?
• What can we expect from your Shift & Discover session?
• What exactly is Sociocracy 3.0?
• Why is self-management so important?
• How do organizations (unconsciously) limit self-management?
• What is the difference between sociocracy and democracy?
• What does consent mean within sociocracy?
• What role do leaders play in sociocratic organizing?
• How do you bring your mission to life?
• What does self-management mean to you?
• What message would you like to share with our readers?

Who is Jef Cumps?

“I’m Jef Cumps. I live in Oud-Turnhout with my wife Karen and am the proud father of two children. Professionally, I describe myself as an inspirer and trainer — those are the two skills I focus on most. I work with organizations that strive for a better balance between people and results. Organizations exist to achieve goals and make an impact on the world, hopefully a positive one. At the same time, I strongly believe organizations should invest in creating nourishing workplaces where people feel safe and can grow.”

Jef helps companies embrace self-management and leadership. “I see self-management as an essential way to help people realize their full potential within an organization.”

How did you enter the world of coaching and leadership?

“I actually stumbled into it somewhat by accident. My background is in engineering, and I once worked in a self-managing team. Only later did I realize how special that experience was — especially when I moved into larger, more traditional companies. There, I saw how organizations can sometimes limit their employees. Gradually, it became my mission to spread the principles of self-management and people-centered organizational design.”

What can we expect from your Shift & Discover session?

“We’ll work with several core principles and techniques of Sociocracy 3.0. What makes Sociocracy 3.0 powerful is that it balances both the human and structural sides of organizations. Some organizations focus too heavily on results, while others remain overly focused on the human aspect.

An important way to reach this balance faster is through consent-based decision-making. We’ll explore how to make decisions together in a way that gives space to every voice without getting stuck in endless discussions. Participants will take home very practical techniques they can immediately apply in their own collaboration, coaching, and leadership practices.”

Rewatch the Sociocracy 3.0 session in our coaching library! (exclusive to Shift & Grow members)

What does Sociocracy 3.0 exactly entail?

“Sociocracy 3.0 actually combines two important concepts: the classical idea of sociocracy, which has existed since the 1970s, and agile thinking, which mainly originated from the software industry. At its core, it is about creating equality in decision-making and autonomy within organizations.

We make decisions together and use short feedback loops to promote adaptability. This makes organizations not only more human, but also more flexible and better able to learn and adapt quickly.”

Why is self-management so important?

“It is actually very simple: we are naturally self-managing. We can make decisions ourselves, collaborate with others, and determine what is important. Just look at our personal lives! When we plan a vacation or organize a move, it works perfectly fine without someone telling us what to do.

But when we enter an organization, especially larger companies, we often leave our freedom, our skills, and our initiative at the front door. Suddenly we must simply ‘behave’ and do what we are told, without thinking independently. This may sound a bit exaggerated, but it comes down to the fact that many organizations still work with structures that limit the autonomy of their employees.”

Jef further explains that standardization and management layers have played an important role in the human evolution of organizations, but that it is now time for a new balance.

“We need a structure that delivers results, but that also empowers people, so teams can manage themselves within clear frameworks. That is why I believe so strongly in self-management.”

How do some organizations (unconsciously) limit self-management?

“I’m glad you used the word ‘unconsciously’, because that is often exactly what happens,” Jef answers. “Many organizations give people little freedom. They do not invite them to think along.

Sometimes you even see companies that are very people-oriented, but then go too far into endless consultation where harmony becomes more important than results. This causes teams to lose focus or prevents decisions from being made. The balance is then lost. A healthy organization allows people to think and act independently, while still offering enough structure and direction to remain result-oriented.”

What is the difference between sociocracy and democracy?

“An interesting question! Many people confuse sociocracy with democracy because both are aimed at collective decision-making. The difference mainly lies in how decisions are made. In a democracy, the majority usually decides, which often means a minority loses out. In sociocracy (3.0), however, it is about consent: we look for solutions that are ‘good enough’ for everyone, actively searching for possible objections. This makes the entire process faster, more inclusive, and prevents voices from being lost.”

What does consent mean in the context of Sociocracy 3.0?

“Consent means that we do not strive for perfect unanimity, as with consensus, but that we jointly look for decisions to which no one has reasoned objections. This prevents decisions from being delayed indefinitely and at the same time ensures that all important objections are taken into account.

With consensus, we search for complete agreement, where everyone fully supports the decision. That sounds nice, but in practice it can often take a long time. With consent, we do not ask everyone to agree enthusiastically, but we want to know whether anyone has serious objections. It is much more efficient because you limit the dialogue to what really matters: are there objections that could block progress? If there are none, we move forward.

Consent is therefore faster and more practical than consensus, because you do not wait until everyone enthusiastically says ‘yes’. You only look at whether there are reasons why a proposal would not work.”

What role do coaches and leaders play in sociocratic organizing?

“Coaching and leadership remain important in a sociocratic system, but their nature does change. Leaders become more directional. They provide clear frameworks and support their teams without controlling everything themselves. The intention is not for leaders to micromanage or make every decision for their team.

This way of leading fits perfectly with a coaching style: you create a safe and clear context in which people can take responsibility themselves and use their potential. Coaching and leadership thus become not separate roles, but integrated qualities.”

How do you bring your mission to life?

“My mission is to bring more agility, self-management, and personal leadership into organizations. I do this by training leaders and teams in techniques such as Sociocracy 3.0, and by showing how they can apply these principles to make their organization more human and more effective. I see organizations as an enormous lever for change: not only within companies themselves, but also in society. If we make organizations better, we make the world better.”

What does self-management mean to you?

“For me, self-management is an invitation to personal leadership. It asks people to take responsibility for their own work and collaboration. If we see organizations as places where people can grow, and not only as structures to make profit, we can contribute to a better world. Self-management invites us to become more aware of who we are, how we collaborate, and how we influence the world around us. That is, in my opinion, the key to positive societal change.”

What message would you like to share with our readers?

“Start with yourself. Whether you are a formal leader or not, you can always be a role model for the people around you. Think about how you contribute to a more nourishing workplace, where people can grow and flourish while you create value together for the world. My call is: take personal leadership, and ask yourself how you can make a positive impact, both inside and outside your organization.”

Would you like to learn more about how to share power, improve decision-making, and strengthen your way of coaching and leading with insights from Sociocracy 3.0? Then become a member of Shift & Grow and rewatch the session! Discover more about Shift & Grow — the community where we take coaching and leadership to the next level!