Our Ways of Working
Wildflower’s Ways of Working are at once collaborative and independent. Each of us has substantial freedom, and there are limits to our freedom shaped by the freedoms of others. At the heart of our approach are "Montessori for Adults" and "Self-Management", where the same freedom and support Montessori gives a child are extended now to the adults who build our schools. We believe that decisions get made in the process of doing work, by the person doing the work, without the need for ratification by others. Four systems and processes allow us to work in this way: The Roles and Responsibilities Process, The Advice Process, The Conflict Resolution Process, and Radical Transparency.
The Roles and Responsibilities Process
Organize bodies of work into hierarchies of scope, defining roles with specific purposes and accountabilities, ensuring transparency and evolution. Connect organized bodies of work flexibly to the Partners and Teacher Leaders who carry out the work.
The Advice Process
The Advice Process in the Wildflower ecosystem empowers partners and Teacher Leaders to make informed decisions that impact others. It involves seeking advice from stakeholders, clarifying decision-making authority, and considering objections before finalizing a decision. The process emphasizes transparency, encouraging input from stakeholders to ensure decisions align with the collective purpose and fostering conflict resolution if necessary.
The Conflict Resolution Process
The Conflict Resolution Process within Wildflower emphasizes direct compassionate conversations to address tensions and seek solutions. If needed, it progresses through stages involving peer or professional facilitation and, in some cases, a Conflict-Resolution Panel to ensure respectful engagement and mutual agreement seeking.
Radical Transparency
Make information freely available and easy to understand in support of self-organization, self-management, self-development, and self-care.
"The radical, beautiful vision that Maria Montessori had for children must be complemented by a similarly radical, beautiful vision for adults. Otherwise, the Montessori classroom becomes like a flower growing in the desert, trying to blossom in an environment that wasn't made for it.
What is needed, instead, is a mirror of the Montessori classroom in the adult world. What is needed is the belief that adults, like children, are naturally peaceful, and curious, and good. And what is needed are structures and practices that give the freedom and support for the inherent goodness, peacefulness, and curiosity of the adults to blossom, in the way that the Montessori method does so for children."
— Sep Kamvar, Founder of Wildflower Schools