Sonder Collective: Growing commitment and decentralising power by building capacity for shared leadership and strategic direction
The challenge
Sonder Collective – a global, self-governed co-operative of creative freelancers was operating under the principles of holacracy, with roles and decision-making distributed across its members. However, despite the intention to decentralise accountability, decision-making power remained largely with the board, which had limited capacity to engage in day-to-day operations. As a result, strategy and organisational development were often neglected, making it difficult for the co-operative to evolve in step with its growing needs and complexity. Also, the level of commitment was impacted in a negative manner.
The solution
To address this, I was asked to step into a leadership position composed of three interconnected roles: organisational development, lead link, and strategy development. Through the roles and strong collaboration, I:
Conducted a qualitative study among members and collaborators to identify structural and operational needs at Sonder and facilitated the process of prioritising them.
Helped ensure that members and collaborators had what they needed to succeed in their roles—providing clarity around priorities, structuring governance, improving internal communication, and making resourcing decisions based on strategic fit.
Supported Sonder’s internal Operations team with tools and guidance, and co-created more efficient systems for recruitment, onboarding, performance support, and internal coordination.
Helped revisit Sonder’s mission, vision and values to help Sonder stay true to its core. We took steps to evolve the business model to be more sustainable and aligned with Sonder’s values.
Created a participatory process to define long-term direction together with members and the board. This included facilitating alignment conversations, shaping the strategic framework, and translating broad goals into actionable plans, processes, and policies.
Redesigned and facilitated the process of internal investments to engage the wider collective and allocate investments based on potential impact and strategic alignment.
Resigned and facilitated a process of selecting new members to the collective.
Drove the development of aligned practices and a toolkit for managing client projects in the Sonder way, resulting in a joint understanding of the goals, direction, practices and improving cross-functional collaboration.
Worked to strengthen community engagement, foster transparency, and build capacity for shared leadership across the co-operative.
My role
I held three holacracy roles: Organisational Development, Lead Link and Strategy Development. I acted as a bridge between the board, members, and collaborators—guiding Sonder’s organisational development, shaping its strategic direction, and supporting the co-operative’s transition from a reactive to a more proactive and self-sustaining model.
Length of the assignment
17 months
“Susanna brought structure, focus and clarity to us at Sonder Collective, a diverse network of individuals from different backgrounds working together remotely across the world. Together we overcame organisational inertia to define our governance, how we come together, and how we get things done. Under Susanna’s guidance, we not only established clearer processes but saw tangible improvements in our operational efficiency and internal team collaboration. Susanna translates complex challenges into actionable next steps, ensuring everyone understands the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind organisational changes. During periods of uncertainty, Susanna’s steady leadership and transparent communication style kept our collective grounded and focused. Her can-do attitude, combined with a hands-on and empathetic way of working, made her an invaluable member of our team.”
