Democratic management works.

Effective management unlocks talent and distributes leadership, increases job satisfaction, and cultivates a collaborative workplace culture. Unlock your company's true strength while aligning your practice and your purpose with the School for Democratic Management.

 
 
 

New Tools for Workplace Success

 
 

A practical guide for managers and others

This is the first tool of its kind: a curated set of the best practices in democratic management from managers and consultants across the U.S. This guide is designed to help new and established democratic workplaces ensure democracy takes hold. It’s a fit for newly-transitioned businesses, growing worker-owned and managed firms, as well as well-established cooperatives.

On demand course: The money story

Improving business outcomes and building a culture of shared ownership can be achieved by focusing on a cooperative's financial information. But not every cooperative member is a numbers person. The Money Story is designed to help cooperative managers transform every member from confused to informed and empowered through financial storytelling.

 
shutterstock_1209553408.jpeg

Learn from experts

Our School is unique in the field of management training; instructors are current and former managers of successful companies with employee ownership. We work closely with them to identify key lessons for actualizing company values.

Meet the instructors

 
 

Offerings

The School for Democratic Management helps managers build the strong participatory ownership culture that an agile, people-centered business needs through our Democratic Management Skills Check-Ups, What Works Webinar Series, and intensive Crash Courses. 

 

Skills Check-Up Webinars

A free assessment of your democratic management skills, conducted through a 60-minute free, on-demand recorded webinar.

What Works Webinar Series

A series of 75-minute webinars in which experienced managers from employee-owned companies tell real-life stories of successes, failures and rebounds.

Crash Courses

A 1.5 day crash course in Open Book Management, decision making, board–management relationship, and functional democratic structures. Offered in person, in regions across the US. 

 
Untitled-3.jpg
 

Impact

We formed the School to help new and experienced managers of businesses with employee ownership and democratic practices understand what they need to know to develop and boost their management skills. We are doing just that.

30+

UNIQUE OFFERINGS

Between our webinars and in-person programs, we have hosted 30+ new offerings in the School’s first two years.

 

100+

ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED

The businesses represented at our trainings range from micro to large in a variety of industries with different levels of employee ownership.

 
 

500+

registrations

We have reached workers and owners across the country through participatory trainings on diverse topics.

 

JUNE 2018

The opportunity to hear the instructor's rich experience was valuable, to get a broad based exposure to ideas. It is clear that there is a lot of passion and experience with the topics.

Nicole Koch, Technicians For Sustainability (TFS)

Read more testimonials