WordPress Leadership Proposal  ## Metadata - Author: [[Patricia BT]] - Full Title: WordPress Leadership Proposal - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #WordPress - #Leadership - #CommunityEngagement Author: Patricia BT Source: patriciabt.com Reference: [Link to article](https://patriciabt.com/blog/wordpress-leadership-proposal/) date created: 2024-10-07 12:00 --- # Title: WordPress Leadership Proposal: A New Approach to Governance ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#📝-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#📖-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#🗒️-notes) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#🗣️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#📰-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#✅-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#🧪-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#📊-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#❓-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#🔮-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#💡-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#🧠-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#📊-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#🌍-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#✅-logical-validity) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#🔍-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#🎯-conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: Patricia BT discusses a proposal to overhaul the WordPress leadership and governance structure to improve inclusivity, transparency, and decision-making. The article argues for establishing a democratic council that represents various stakeholders within the WordPress community, including contributors, users, and companies. By moving towards a more structured governance model, similar to other open-source projects, the proposal aims to address criticisms of centralization and foster a more engaged community. ## 📖 Main Content: The author begins by identifying current issues with WordPress governance, particularly the concentration of decision-making power in the hands of a few. Patricia notes that the lack of representation from diverse community segments has led to dissatisfaction among contributors and stakeholders. To address this, the article suggests creating a "WordPress Council" comprising representatives from different groups: developers, users, contributors, and commercial partners. This council would be responsible for making major project decisions, thus improving transparency and accountability. Patricia points to successful examples of similar governance models in other open-source projects, such as Drupal and Linux, as inspiration. The proposal also emphasizes the importance of establishing clear roles and responsibilities for council members, promoting a culture of open discussion, and ensuring that voices from underrepresented communities are heard. By adopting this model, the WordPress ecosystem could become more balanced, fostering innovation and collaboration across different community segments. ### 🗒️ Notes - **Current Issues in WordPress Governance**: - Decision-making is centralized among a few individuals, leading to community dissatisfaction. - Lack of representation from diverse groups. - **Proposed Solution**: - Create a "WordPress Council" with representatives from developers, users, contributors, and companies. - This council will be responsible for key project decisions, promoting transparency and inclusivity. - **Benefits of a Democratic Model**: - Encourages more community engagement and participation. - Enhances transparency and distributes power. - **Examples from Other Open-Source Projects**: - Drupal and Linux as models for structured governance. - Successful implementations of democratic councils have led to more balanced decision-making. ## 📖 References: - Patricia BT. "WordPress Leadership Proposal: A New Approach to Governance." patriciabt.com. [Link to article](https://patriciabt.com/blog/wordpress-leadership-proposal/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase:  1. Patricia highlights the dissatisfaction within the WordPress community due to the current centralized governance structure. She suggests that creating a council of representatives from various community segments could help distribute decision-making power more evenly and promote transparency. 2. The author argues that adopting a democratic governance model, similar to those used by other open-source projects like Drupal and Linux, would lead to better representation and engagement, helping address existing concerns about inclusivity and power concentration. ## 📰 Newsletter: 🌟 **A New Era for WordPress Leadership?** 🛠️ Patricia BT proposes a bold new approach to WordPress governance—establishing a "WordPress Council" to represent developers, users, contributors, and companies. The idea? Make decisions more inclusive, transparent, and community-driven. Inspired by successful open-source projects like Drupal and Linux, this could be the change WordPress needs to grow sustainably. Dive into her vision here: [Read More](https://patriciabt.com/blog/wordpress-leadership-proposal/). Let's work together to shape a more democratic WordPress! 💡🌍 ## ✅ Action Items: - **Contributor Engagement**: The proposal aligns with my focus on community inclusivity. Advocating for a governance council fits well with promoting open-source advocacy and ensuring every contributor has a voice. - **OSPO Strategy**: As an aspiring OSPO director, I can draw inspiration from this proposed democratic model to implement structures that ensure transparent governance and equal representation, thus fostering sustainable growth and contributor satisfaction. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - Establishing a representative council will lead to increased satisfaction and engagement among WordPress contributors. - A more democratic governance model will enhance transparency, resulting in a more collaborative community. ### 📊 Methodology: - **Data Sources**: Survey data from current WordPress contributors, stakeholders, and communities with similar governance models. - **Research Design**: Use a before-and-after comparison of community engagement levels following any governance changes. - **Analysis Techniques**: Quantitative analysis to measure engagement changes and qualitative interviews to gauge community satisfaction. ### ❓ Questions: - How can the WordPress community ensure fair representation for underrepresented groups on the proposed council? - What challenges might arise from transitioning from a centralized to a democratic governance model? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Investigate the impact of council-based governance on decision-making efficiency within open-source projects. - Assess whether a similar democratic model could be adapted to other aspects of the WordPress ecosystem, such as plugin and theme development. ### 💡 Implications:  Implementing a democratic council for WordPress governance could potentially improve transparency, community satisfaction, and overall project sustainability. This governance model could serve as an example for other open-source projects looking to evolve their decision-making processes. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: - **Visual Learners (Spatial)**: - **Present**: Minimal visual representation. - **Improve**: Include organizational charts showing the proposed governance structure. - **Aural Learners (Auditory-Musical)**: - **Present**: None. - **Improve**: Provide an audio version or a podcast discussion of the proposed governance changes. - **Verbal Learners (Linguistic)**: - **Present**: The article includes descriptive language and examples. - **Improve**: Add more detailed storytelling examples about other open-source projects' experiences with governance changes. - **Physical Learners (Kinesthetic)**: - **Present**: None. - **Improve**: Suggest readers draft their own version of the proposed council roles to engage with the concept. - **Logical Learners (Mathematical)**: - **Present**: Logical arguments for why governance changes are necessary. - **Improve**: Include data points comparing WordPress' current model to other projects with successful governance structures. - **Social Learners (Interpersonal)**: - **Present**: Encourages community-based decision-making. - **Improve**: Include prompts for group discussion or debates on the best ways to implement governance changes. - **Solitary Learners (Intrapersonal)**: - **Present**: Reflective tone. - **Improve**: Add reflection prompts for readers to think about ho - Document Tags: [[5fftF]] [[governance]] [[open source corporate contribution]] [[wordpress]] [[wordpress contribution]] - Summary: Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the views of the projects I am part of, such as the WordCamp Europe organising team, the WordPress Mentorship Program, - URL: https://patriciabt.com/blog/wordpress-leadership-proposal/   ***Disclaimer**: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the views of the projects I am part of, such as the WordCamp Europe organising team, the WordPress Mentorship Program, my roles in the Make Community team, or GatherPress community engagement. If there is any conflict with these projects, I welcome any feedback, and I am open to stepping down from my roles. Furthermore, the ongoing legal matters between the WordPress Foundation+Automattic and WP Engine are for the courts to decide, and I will not comment on them, as I am not aware of all the details. This post is focused solely on the WordPress contributor community, with the hope of fostering unity, not division. We are more than 40% of the web, and we must continue to represent the open-source ethos responsibly and collaboratively.* In making this call for unity, I also hope that expressing these views will not result in me being ousted from the community or projects I contribute to. The intention here is to spark constructive dialogue, not to divide or alienate anyone. I want to approve comments, so please refrain from posting personal attacks. #### A Grateful Acknowledgment of Matt Mullenweg’s Vision First and foremost, it is crucial to express deep gratitude to Matt Mullenweg for his vision, advocacy, and leadership in guiding WordPress to where it is today. His commitment to open source, his foresight, and his unwavering support for WordPress as a platform have brought it from a simple blogging tool to a powerful, transformative force for the web. The WordPress community wouldn’t be what it is without Matt’s dedication and contributions over the past two decades, and for that, I am immensely thankful. Thanks to his vision, countless people around the world are able to make their living through WordPress, building careers, businesses, and communities around this platform. #### A Call for a New Leadership Model As we look to the future, it’s evident that the WordPress project, like all thriving open-source initiatives, must continue to evolve, both in technology and governance. As much as Matt’s leadership has been integral, the time has come to consider new ways to lead, engage, and ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the WordPress contributor community. One of the growing concerns in recent years is that contributors are leaving when they feel the leadership of the project is not aligned with their values. In numerous conversations at local events, I often hear the same sentiment: contributors feel they are not understood, not listened to, and that all major decisions are made by ‘them,’ referring to Automatticians in key decision-making roles. This disconnect has led to disengagement, for example fewer people willing to remain event organisers, and it has become more challenging to retain a diverse group of contributors who feel supported and represented within the project. Despite the great efforts being made with programmes like the Contributor Mentorship, whose third cohort starts today, we still lose more contributors than we onboard. This imbalance is a signal that something needs to change. To address these challenges and build a more inclusive, sustainable future for WordPress, I propose a shift toward a leadership council, a body of an uneven number, such as 3, 5, or 7 elected representatives who embody the diversity of the WordPress contributor base. The executive power within this leadership council could follow a collaborative model, inspired by the Swiss government’s system of collegiality and consensus-building (you can read more in my post “[The Swiss Federal Council: A Unique Model of Shared Leadership](https://patriciabt.com/blog/the-swiss-federal-council-a-unique-model-of-shared-leadership/)“). This would create a more balanced and democratic leadership structure, fostering collaboration among the council members instead of centralised decision-making. Here are some key points for consideration: * **Diverse Representation**: No more than one-third of this leadership council should come from Automattic (which could include Matt or another Automattic representative). The other two-thirds should be made up of contributors from other companies or independent, non-sponsored contributors. We need to ensure that the council reflects people from diverse backgrounds, continents, and cultures, ensuring a truly global representation of the WordPress community. The nomination and election process should be open and transparent, giving the community a voice in selecting representatives who can offer diverse perspectives and better reflect the entirety of the contributor ecosystem. * **Nomination and Election Process**: The election process should apply to the two-thirds of the leadership council who are non-Automattic. This will ensure that contributors, whether they are sponsored by other companies or are non-sponsored volunteers, have representation in leadership. Transparency and fairness will be key to ensuring this council operates with integrity and remains accountable to the community. * **Time to revisit**: Some of these ideas have been explored before, through past proposals like [WP Governance](https://wpgovernance.com/) and the work of Morten Rand-Hendriksen, Rachel Cherry and others, which laid the groundwork for this kind of change. Now might be the time to revisit these ideas and put some of them into practice. #### Addressing the Current Challenges Five for the Future, while a well-intentioned initiative, has highlighted some problematic trends in the way contributor hours are reported. There is growing concern about misleading numbers in the pledged hours versus actual contribution. This discrepancy must be addressed to maintain the credibility of the initiative and ensure transparency across the board. Accurate tracking and reporting of contributions are essential if we want to support sustainable contributor engagement and avoid burn-out. To delve further into these issues, I encourage readers to explore the recent reflections shared by [Jean-Baptiste Audras](https://jeanbaptisteaudras.com/en/2024/10/appreciating-company-contributions-to-the-wordpress-ecosystem-a-poposal-inspired-from-drupal/) (JB, WordPress core committer) and [Dries Buytaert](https://dri.es/solving-the-maker-taker-problem) (the founder of Drupal). Note: I’m aware of the Health Dashboards project, which is a first step. Another pressing issue involves WordPress’s official social media channels and Slack workspace. Dedicated contributors who offer valuable insights should not be blocked or excluded from these platforms. We must move toward a more inclusive approach, where open dialogue and debate are encouraged, rather than silencing community members. Giving these platforms to the community for management would not only encourage more participation but also ensure that they represent a broad spectrum of voices. #### A Proposal for the Future We need leadership that is as distributed and diverse as the community itself. Creating a council that includes representatives from across the ecosystem, Automattic, independent contributors and others, could be a path forward that honours the project’s roots while embracing its future. This proposal is not a criticism of the past but an invitation to explore new models that prioritise sustainability, inclusivity, and shared ownership. The community we’ve built around WordPress is one of the most unique in the open-source world. To ensure its long-term vitality, we must be willing to try new approaches and listen to the people who make it thrive. Thank you for reading and for your continued contributions to WordPress. Let’s continue to fight for unity, for the values that have brought us here, and for the long-term health of the community we all love. *These opinions and texts are mine, with the assistance of ChatGPT solely to improve the quality of the English language.*, WordPress Leadership Proposal, Patricia BT, 01j9ktn99bte9y7dxq4j5ppcyz.