Holacracy™ is a complete operating system for the organization, embedding flexibility and adaptive capacity in the heart of the organization. The name refers to governance by the ‘holarchy’, or the natural structure of the organization itself. The holacratic operating system consists of three elements:

1. an organizational structure,
2. a governance structure, and
3. three dynamic steering principles.

The holacratic organizational structure consists of self-organizing circles connected by double-links.

This double link is made up of a ‘lead link’, driving for results, and a ‘representative link’ or ‘rep link’, who guards the health of the circle. Self-organization occurs by means of the governance structure, which distinguishes between the operational process (getting the work done) and the policy process (how we organize ourselves to get the work done). Operationally, each circle performs short daily stand-up meetings and a weekly tactical meeting, allowing the circle members to synchronize the work by exchanging information and taking operational decisions.

In addition to the daily stand-up and the weekly tactical meetings, the circle assembles less frequently (e.g. each month) for the governance meeting. This meeting centers on the formal policy and roles and responsibilities, which are created, changed or dropped through Integrative Decision-Making (see text below ‘Never outvote the fuel gauge!’). The goal of the governance meeting is to address present tensions by identifying the workable way forward (see figure 2 on the next page), in line with the three principles of dynamic steering:

1. Present tensions are all that matter (what is, not what if)
2. Any issue can be revisited at any time
3. The goal is a workable decision, not the ‘best’ decision (because that emerges over time, as new information is integrated into the decision)

The combination of these three principles serves to eliminate a lot of ‘noise’, and helps the organization take quick, workable decisions that are steered dynamically over time on the basis of real data. Distinguishing between the tactical and the governance meetings enables a more focused and effective decision-making culture, which boosts the quality of both the operational and the policy process.

Never outvote the fuel gauge!

In a holacratic organization, each individual is a valuable ‘sensor’ with access to a unique field of information. When in the cockpit of an airplane the airspeed indicator, the altimeter and the voltage meter all say we’re doing fine, that doesn’t mean we can ignore the fuel gauge. Even if just one person raises an objection (a tangible reason why something’s not workable), this perspective is heard and integrated into the proposal through an effective process, called the Integrative Decision-Making process. The fear that this will take too much time is based on a misconception; in practice this way of working actually saves time!

by Jeroen Maes, Realize!

Holacracy™ is a trademark of HolacracyOne LLC