Page 6 - C.A.L.L. #22 - Fall 2003
P. 6
Accountability and Consequences: How can we help each other stay
accountable to the group? What are our options if someone
repeatedly breaks community agreements?
One of the most common sources of conflict in more difficult to forget or ignore responsibilities
community occurs when people don’t do what if they’re publicly visible. Social pressure can
they say they’ll do. As in business, this often often accomplish what good intentions cannot.
causes repercussions “downstream,” since some
people count on others to finish certain If not, completing tasks becomes an ongoing
preliminary steps before they can take the next problem with one or more people in the group,
steps. But by putting a few simple processes in you can add additional processes. For example,
place, community members can help each other when anyone accomplishes a task, thank and
stay accountable to one another in relatively acknowledge the person at the next meeting.
painless, guilt-free ways. When someone doesn’t accomplish a task, the
group as a whole asks the person to try again.
One is to make agreements After a while, the simple desire not to let others
about tasks in meetings, down usually becomes an internalized motivator
and keep track of these for more responsible behavior.
tasks from meeting to
meeting. This involves Why is not completing tasks such a common
assigning tasks to specific source of community conflict? I think it's about
people and defining what they’re being asked to d e v e l o p i n g t h e h a b i t e a r l y i n l i f e o f
accomplish and by what time. It also involves procrastinating or agreeing to take on more than
having a task review at the beginning of every is possible, and not having enough motivation to
meeting – the people or committees who agreed change. When we live alone or live with our
to take on these tasks report whether they have families, it's relatively easy
been done, and if not, when they will be. to change our minds about
whether or not, or when,
It also helps to create a wall chart of assigned we'll do something we said
tasks with expected completion dates and the we'd do, or just plain let it
person or committee responsible for each. go. But in a community this
Assign someone the task of keeping the chart can have widespread negative impacts on other
current and taping it to the wall at meetings. people, and we'll certainly hear about it. It can
take time, energy, and commitment to shift from
Community activist Geoph Kozeny suggests "live-alone" or "single-family" mode to
creating a buddy system, where everyone is consistently considering how our actions will
assigned another group member to call and affect others.
courteously inquire, “Did you call the county
yet?” or “Have you found out about the health When people repeatedly don't do what they
permit?” This is not about promise and others continue to hold them
guilt-tripping; it’s about helpful accountable, it usually results in the person
inquiry and mutual either changing their habits or eventually
encouragement. These methods leaving the group.
rely on the principle that it’s By Diana Leafe Christian
Excerpted from Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow an Ecovillage or Intentional
Community (New Society Publishers, 2003) by Diana Leafe Christian.
Reprinted from Communities Magazine #117, edited by the book’s author.
6
