Francesca Pick outdoors under an open sky

Francesca Pick

Organizational explorer

About me

I'm an organizational explorer, ecosystem connector and facilitator with the desire to shape the next generation of organizations and leaders — who are conscious, purpose-centered, and ready to explore a world way beyond business as usual.

What drives me is the belief that how we organize matters more than we think, and aligning our values with how we work, live, and are together is essential for a thriving world.

Much of my practice as an organization developer stems from my practical experience in global self-organized communities — the OuiShare and Enspiral Networks — which I helped grow from their early days starting in 2012, including co-founding OuiShare's flagship event, OuiShare Fest. In 2017 that work led me to co-found Greaterthan, a global collective of practitioners — which has since gone through its own transition and led to the emergence of a new collective, Common Ground.

My interest in systems thinking and organizational development was sparked during my studies at Zeppelin University.

My background

An American raised in Bavaria (Germany), I've always navigated different worlds at once. After being semi-nomadic for many years in Europe, the US and New Zealand, I now live near Barcelona (Spain) with my family. From here, I work globally (mostly online, interspersed with in-person work). Our home is a coliving project, where we welcome friends, family and collaborators, to live, work and play together.

My work

Common Ground

In 2026 I started Common Ground with a group of fellow practioners from its predecesor, Greaterthan Collective. We're a self-organized collective with over a decade of experience with progressive organizational development and commons-based, decentralized, organizing.

I accompany and advise organizations and teams on:

  • shared leadership
  • participatory governance and decision-making
  • self-organizing and postgrowth business
  • value-aligned ways to work with money & resource flow

I often support at thresholds: impact networks ready to mature to their next stage, organizations outgrowing informal ways of working who are looking for an alternative to traditional management structures, and leaders ready to change but unsure of the next step.

Cobudget

I'm steward of Cobudget, an open source tool for collaborative funding and budgeting for groups and organizations.

Previous projects & affiliations

Greaterthan 2017 to 2026
Co-founder of a consulting collective and self-organizing lab. Accompanied dozens of purpose-driven leaders, companies and NGOs with organizational development, and delivered learning programs for impact networks.
OuiShare and OuiShare Fest 2012-2020
Helped grow the OuiShare network from its early days and co-founded its flagship festival.
Enspiral
Member of this network of social entrepreneurs and businesses. Co-author of the chapter “Welcome to the Age of Participation” in Enspiral's book Better Work Together (2019).
Edmund Hillary Fellowship
A global community of entrepreneurs, investors and innovators who shared a commitment to building meaningful change — with and from Aotearoa New Zealand — as basecamp for global impact.

Writing

For ongoing writing, see my Medium and the Common Ground Substack. A few selected pieces:

I also speak about my experience at industry events, public forums, festivals and in companies, in English, German, French and Spanish. Topics I can talk about are: postgrowth and purpose-driven organizations, shared leadership and governance, new pay practices and radical money experiments in organizations, collaborative and participatory budgeting, self-managed organizations and communities.

Past presentations

Leadership misconceptions in self management and decentralised governance | Better Work Together at New Frontiers Festival | Reimagining the role of money in organizations and networks

Connect

I accompany, advise and facilitate with organizations and networks at inflection points on shared leadership, governance and self-management.