Care as Structure
Build care into formats, cadence, and roles so people can breathe and belong.
Core Connections
- Atlas Anchors: External Space, Shared Space, Space as Methodology
- Charter Expression: Space is Methodology
Why This Matters
Care isn’t something we add when we have extra time—it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible. When care is relegated to afterthought, meetings become extractive, processes exhaust people, and good intentions produce harm. Care as Structure recognizes that space is a method and ethic—design signals your values in practice. By building care into the bones of how we work, we create conditions for sustainable engagement and genuine transformation.
Practice It Today
- Intentions → pauses → meaning-close — Structure every gathering with opening intentions, built-in breaks, and closing reflections
- Assign timekeeper/inclusion steward — Rotate roles that protect participation and pacing
- Repair routes in agendas — Build in time for “what needs tending?” before moving forward
You Need This When
- Meetings feel extractive or draining
- Important topics drift without resolution
- Burnout increases despite “self-care” messaging
- Process feels disconnected from purpose
Ethical Cautions
Co-design structures with those most impacted. Avoid paternalistic assumptions about what care looks like. Remember that different people need different kinds of support to participate fully.
Related Practices
Systems Thinking • Listening as Love • Space as Practice
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