The dream of probably a large number of employees of smaller and larger companies is to be your own boss or not to have a supervisor over you for at least one day at work. So far, an effective way was to simply start your own business – recently, however, another concept has been added. It is a holacracy and, to put it simply, it is a model of managing a company in which there are neither positions nor superiors.

Holacracy (sometimes also called holocracy) is a company management system developed at the beginning of the 21st century in the United States, which consists in resigning from superiors and certain positions. Its name derives from the philosophical concept of holarchy introduced by Arthur Koestler. Holarchy is a hierarchy of holons (Greek holos – whole), i.e. certain wholes that, together with other holons, combine into larger units within a specific system. Holacracy literally means the rule of holons – don’t worry, it’s not the title of a science-fiction movie.

Holacracy was developed at Ternary Software in Pennsylvania, which was working on a democratic management system. The initial assumptions of holacracy were developed in 2007 by Brian Robertson, and three years later the first edition of the holacracy constitution was created. It has been modified since then and we are currently dealing with version 4.1.

What is holacracy? It is primarily a system that rejects the existing, classic model of the company’s operation, based on superiors of various levels and specific positions and departments existing in the same shape. Enthusiasts of the idea claim that holacracy eliminates the extended decision-making paths and the phenomenon of shifting responsibility to other people – the new system is primarily intended to be a more effective use of employees’ potential and skills.

In the most general way, when presenting the principles on which holacracies function, two concepts need to be developed at the outset: circle and role. A circle can be made up of one or more employees and can be likened to something like a task force. Smaller circles – sub-circles – operate within superior, larger ones (super-circles). Despite this, they are very autonomous.

A role is a set of tasks that belongs to a given employee within a given circle. One employee can perform different roles within different circles – it all depends on his skills and competences. The employee is not strictly assigned to the role and can change it, but these changes must not hinder the work of other members of the circles. In each of them, there should necessarily be three roles – let’s call them technical – of a lead link, a rep link and a facilitator.

The lead connector is a person who is selected for a specific circle B from the parent circle A and his task is to organize the work of circle B – assigning people to specific roles, defining strategies and priorities. It is worth remembering, however, that the lead liaison role is not the same as the classic manager position and is not superior to other roles in the circle. The liaison-representative role is to represent circle B to the outside. He is selected from among the members of the B circle, and his task is to present the achievements of the circle in the superior circles, to loosen tensions, i.e. the discrepancies between the actual and expected state, and to eliminate obstacles that hinder the work of the B circle. holacracy. The role of the mediator is particularly visible during governance meetings, which are aimed at configuring the team in such a way that it performs its tasks as effectively as possible. Another form of meetings are operational meetings, during which the implementation of current tasks is discussed.

What distinguishes classic management models from holocracies?

• Understanding of jobs. Classic positions, one-dimensional, often ineffective and unnecessary, have been replaced by roles that change depending on the activities performed, corresponding to current requirements.
• Possibility of reorganization. In classic models, it is almost impossible or requires huge changes – holacracy allows you to quickly adapt the company’s model to a given project.
• Decision-making – in classic models it falls on the shoulders of managers, sometimes detached from the actual needs and capabilities of departments. In holacracies, decisions are made collectively within a specific circle.
• Equality of rules. In holacracies, despite the formal hierarchy, each employee is treated on the same terms.
• Decentralization. In the classical model, everything is ultimately focused on the chief director, chairman of the board, etc. In holacracies, decisions are made „locally”, on the grounds of the circles, and they are binding.

Source:https://poradnikprzedsiebiorcy.pl/-holakracja-jak-funkcjonuja-firmy-bez-szefow

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.