Pala Summer Gathering, 2026

Braving the British Weather

We’d been planning the day for 6mths, through the dark, cold months of January, February and March – always picturing a beautiful sunny day, where people could gather on picnic rugs in the warm sunshine…fast forward to 3rd June and of course, the good old British weather brought us a day of rain! It didn’t dampen our spirits though, on no…

Cheery faces arrived one-by-one to the beautiful Hendall Manor Barns in the East Sussex countryside, armed with raincoats and walking boots. Once everyone had gathered over coffees, pastries and a buzz of introductions, we started the day with a slightly drizzly walk for everyone to start to get to know each other.

The Purpose of the Day

The day was set-up to bring people together who are working in self-managed ways, to learn, share and connect with each other. We’d long dreamt of doing this, as I would often hear from Jon saying that so-and-so client could really benefit from speaking to so-and-so client. Leading an organisation always has it’s challenges and being able to meet with and learn from others who have similar challenges and may have developed some interesting solutions, can be motivating, supportive and useful.

So we set-out to design a day that worked  on self-managed principles, such as an open agenda that was shaped by the participants, moments of reflection and learning individually, in pairs and in groups, all held with some mindful facilitation through out the day. We invited all the people we had worked with and all the contacts we have in our network, to try and bring together a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with each other.

And I’m pleased to say, that’s what actually happened on the day….

After returning from a slightly soggy walk, everybody gathered in a circle to hear about the shape of the day and to get to know each other better through some fun ice-breaker games. Scott got everybody up and moving, asking people to move along the scale on questions like “are you more introverted or extraverted?” “is your organisation fully self-managed or fully hierarchical?”. This lead to some giggles and interesting shapes taking place amongst the people in the room, but mainly it helped us all to get to know each other a little better before moving into some deeper work later in the day.

Trust, Autonomy and Letting-Go

The wonderful Dr Bex Hewett had come all the way from the Rotterdam School of Management to share her research into self-managing organisations. Her short talk, entitled “Building Self-Management That Lasts: Trust, Autonomy and Letting Go” highlighted some of the key elements that she’s observed across the many different self-managed organisations in her research.

A number of provocative questions were posed by Bex to the group, to get everyone thinking:

• How much autonomy are you willing to give? Here Bex talked about the importance of giving boundaries, that support autonomy – it’s not just about people having free rein. People can have freedom to choose the route they take, but everyone needs to be clear on the goal they’re collectively trying to reach.
• Do you believe that everyone is capable of doing this (being self-managing)? It’s important to believe that everyone is capable, and also understand that that capability will emerge if the right conditions are there. This includes investing in onboarding, ongoing learning & reflection, cultivating a growth-mindset and building a productive feedback culture.
• How far are leaders willing to walk the talk? There may seem like some irony in this, but Bex’s research has observed that for self-management to work, in needs to be led by a strong leader. Leading with a strong purpose and ability to role-model things like openness to being challenged; admitting mistakes; sharing info and holding boundaries consistently.
• If it walks like a manager, talks like a manager…then it’s a manager! Bex highlighted that sometimes organisations who are trying to embed self-management, may actually still have individuals who are managing, rather than leading. This may look or feel like: leaders who can still overrule everyone; experts whose opinions carry disproportionate weight; people holding multiple roles that have decision authority.

The research findings and questions posed gave us all so much to reflect on, in our own roles, organisations and work. For me, I came away thinking that it is reassuring to hear there is research out there to show that this is a better way to work, but I was also left wondering…why don’t more people do it…? Does it just feel too hard? Is it that hierarchy is simply so ingrained as the norm? I still don’t know.

Co-Creation in Action

After a delicious BBQ lunch together, with plenty of time for everyone to chat and connect, the afternoon was spent going deep.

We’d designed the day to be co-created (being all about self-management, how could we not?) with an Open Space format for the afternoon. Everyone was invited to share a question or challenge they would like to work on or have help with from other participants. These were then clustered and individual groups created around that topic. The burning topics that surfaced for the people in the room were:

• Training (around self-management)
• Decision Making, within a self-managing culture
• Technology & Transparency
• Motivation & Willingness
• Leadership – how to deal with people not role-modelling
• Getting Started & Tools
• Is there a place for hierarchy?
• Failure (when it doesn’t work)
• Feedback & Psychological safety
• How to do self-management with limited resources

The rest of the afternoon was largely focused on group huddles and energetic conversation around these topics. People sharing in their challenges, or giving examples of solutions that have worked (or semi-worked) in their company, or simply listening or asking questions with curiosity.

This participatory coaching and support continued with a triad coaching exercise, giving each individual some time to share something they needed support with regarding their self-management journey. Giving space for listening, advice and practicing coaching skills.

Changing the World in Small Groups

When it came to our final check-out of the day, in our final seated circle, there was a sense of energy and reflection. Many shared how grateful they felt to be in a room with so many like-minded people, how re-energised they felt to carry on with the sometimes challenging work they are doing in their organisations, and several people said how they needed alot longer together to share and learn.

I was left feeling proud that we had taken the small scary leap of organising our first event in this space, because we really had believed that there would be so much benefit to bringing people together who are trying to implement self-managing practices. We had dreamt of people sharing the highs and lows of their own journey’s, to help others to learn, feel motivated or reassured and to find that support we all need, from a community of like-minded people. And that’s what happened.

I also left with the reminder that work can be better and there are people making that happen.

As one participant so beautifully shared in their feedback form:

I love what you do and its so good to see the impact you are having in a wider context, and to know there are like minded people out there who know there is a different and better way of doing things. I thought about that Margaret Mead quote on the bus on the way back to London – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”- it felt like that on Thursday!

Thank you so much to everyone who helped us to make the day great, by sharing your energy, experience and wisdom.

With gratitude 🙏