How to make Girona Buddies autonomous

This guide explains how to make Girona Buddies (or any community) more autonomous — meaning the group continues to function, grow, and organise itself without relying on one central leader.

The goal is not for leaders to do nothing, but to avoid becoming a bottleneck.

Core Principle

The key shift is:

From: Things happen because one person (the admin) does them

To: Things happen because the system allows anyone to do them

Autonomy is achieved when the group no longer depends on a single person to function.

Avoid Creating Dependency

Every time a leader:

• Makes decisions
• Fixes problems
• Organises events

They risk creating dependency.

Members begin to think: > “This is something the admin will handle”

To build autonomy:

• Do not solve problems others can solve
• Do not act if someone else could act instead

Replace Decisions with Systems

Instead of making decisions manually, create clear rules.

Example: Instead of:

• “The admin decides if a subgroup is created”

Use:

• “If 10 members show interest and a majority vote passes, the subgroup is created”

This removes the need for a central decision-maker.

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Decentralise Actions (Not Just Decisions)

It is not enough that the community votes.

You should also decentralise:

• Who starts polls
• Who organises events
• Who manages subgroups

Example:

• Any community admin can start a vote for a new admin
• Event organisers are responsible for promoting their own events

This removes the admin as the “gatekeeper of action”.

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Use Standardised Processes

To allow anyone to act, processes must be clear and repeatable.

Example: Admin Vote Format

• Title: New Community Admin Proposal: [Name]
• Include: Reason for nomination and contributions
• Options:
  • Yes
  • No
  • Abstain

Example: Rules

• Minimum number of votes required
• Majority needed to pass

Clear formats reduce confusion and remove the need for guidance.

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Let Roles Emerge Naturally

Avoid assigning roles top-down.

Instead:

• Notice who is already active
• Support them in continuing

Example: If someone frequently organises hikes, they may naturally become a hiking group organiser.

This keeps leadership organic and bottom-up.

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Allow Small Failures

Autonomy requires space for imperfection.

This includes:

• Quiet weeks
• Poorly organised events
• Inactive subgroups

Do not intervene unless necessary (e.g. safety issues, conflict, spam).

If you fix everything:

• Members stop taking initiative

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Make Information Public

If knowledge is only in one person’s head, the system is not autonomous.

Make information accessible:

• Rules
• Processes
• How to organise events
• How to create subgroups

This allows anyone to act without asking for permission.

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Reduce Your Own Involvement Gradually

A practical approach is to slowly step back:

• Stop promoting every event → organisers promote their own
• Stop monitoring all subgroups → check occasionally or rotate
• Only create subgroups through defined rules
• Allow inactive groups to fade naturally

The aim is to create space for others to step in.

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Mental Rule for Decision-Making

Before taking action, ask:

> “Does this make me more necessary or less necessary?”

• If it makes you more necessary → avoid it
• If it makes you less necessary → do it

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Common Mistakes

Avoid these misunderstandings:

• “Autonomy means doing nothing”
• “No moderation is needed”
• “The admin should disappear completely”

In reality:

• The admin designs and maintains the system
• The community operates within it

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Final Insight

Autonomy does not mean:

• The leader does less

It means:

• Other people do more

And that only happens when there is space for them to act.