Workplace Autonomy or Hola-crazy?

For the Managers and Entrepreneurs who are tired of making every small decisions

Holacracy is a bit like the rebellious teenager of corporate governance. It throws out the traditional hierarchy and says, “Hey, let’s have teams that manage themselves!” These teams, or “circles,” are like mini-companies within a company. They have their own goals and roles and make decisions together.

In holacracy, there’s no big boss telling everyone what to do. Instead, each circle has its own authority to make decisions within its area.

It’s similar to a cruise ship captain giving authority to make decisions to the speedboats working under them.

Inside the Holacracy Dimension

Imagine a traditional company structure as a big, old-school cruise ship. You’ve got the captain at the top, giving orders to the crew below, and everyone has their designated roles and responsibilities. Now picture holacracy as a group of fast, maneuverable speedboats.

In Holacracy, the organization is broken down into these self-sufficient speedboats, or “circles.” Each circle has its own mission and can navigate its way through the waters independently.

Instead of waiting for orders from the captain, these speedboats collaborate and make decisions autonomously, based on their own knowledge and expertise.

But here’s the twist: while each speedboat operates independently, they are all part of the same fleet. They communicate with each other, share resources, and can even change course together if needed. This allows for a dynamic and adaptive approach to navigating the ever-changing seas of business.

Holacracy is like giving each team their own mini cruise ship to captain, while still being part of the larger fleet. It promotes agility, creativity, and collaboration, making it a popular choice for organizations looking to shake up their traditional hierarchies.

In a holacracy, there’s no strict hierarchy where one person is in charge of everything. Instead, each circle has its own purpose and roles, and they’re responsible for making decisions and managing their work. This means that employees have more say in how things are done and can take on more responsibility.

The idea behind holacracy is to promote transparency, autonomy, and innovation within the organization.

By giving employees more freedom to make decisions within their own area of expertise, holacracy aims to create a more flexible and adaptable work environment where teams can respond quickly to changes and challenges.

Many people believe that this whole concept is Hola-Crazy!

Birth of Holacracy

Within each circle, there are regular meetings called “governance meetings” where members can propose changes to the roles and processes within the circle. These proposals are discussed and decided upon using a structured process to ensure everyone’s input is heard.

Holacracy also uses a “double-linking” system where each circle is connected to a higher-level circle and a lower-level circle. This helps to ensure that decisions are made with input from all relevant parties and that information flows freely throughout the organization.

Now let us understand it with an instance.
Holacracy is like a giant game of organizational cruise. It’s like the ship captain empowering the speedboats in their fleet to make crucial decisions. Each speedboat has its own role and function, working together to navigate the waters effectively and reach their destination.

As Brian J. Robertson, Author of Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World has said,

“Holacracy is not a governance process “of the people, by the people, for the people” — it’s governance of the organization, through the people, for the purpose.”

There are a lot of famous companies which are currently using this concept of working.

Zappos: An online retailer known for its unique company culture, implemented Holacracy in 2013 to create a more agile and innovative organization.

Medium: This platform adopted Holacracy in 2016 to empower employees and foster a more adaptive and responsive work environment.

Buurtzorg: Although not a traditional company, Buurtzorg is a Dutch home care organization that operates with a self-managing model similar to Holacracy. It has been highly successful in delivering high-quality care while keeping costs low.

Morning Star: This tomato processing company has been practicing self-management principles for decades. Employees at Morning Star negotiate responsibilities and accountabilities with their colleagues, leading to high levels of engagement and productivity.

Eileen Fisher: The fashion company Eileen Fisher has implemented a self-management system inspired by Holacracy. Employees have the freedom to choose their roles and work collaboratively to achieve the company’s goals.

These companies demonstrate that self-management practices like Holacracy can be successful in a variety of industries and organizational contexts.

Remember this before you go

While holacracy presents an intriguing concept of self-management and distributed authority within organizations, its widespread adoption remains limited.

However, it’s important to note that the principles behind holacracy, such as increased autonomy, transparency, and agility, are still highly relevant and can be incorporated into traditional organizational structures.

Ultimately, the decision to adopt holacracy or not depends on the specific needs and culture of each organization. As the business landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these concepts of self-management and distributed authority continue to influence organizational design and management practices in the future.