A “Manager Mimicry” App for Holacracy-Powered Companies

The Holacracy Constitution has a lot of specific rules for how to run an organization, but when it comes to hiring people, firing people, and compensation — things that companies kinda care about — the Constitution is completely silent.

Of course when we consult with clients, questions about firing and compensation come up early and often. At the beginning we typically recommend that clients keep doing whatever they’ve been doing and let tensions drive the change. However, it usually doesn’t take long for the limitations of the old system to become apparent. It’s like trying to run an Android app on an iPhone; even if the software worked well on its native platform, the new platform isn’t very compatible.

Therefore, we need to create all sorts of new organizational “apps” to address these basic talent management issues. We have previously released a 3-Tier Partnership app, which separates “partnership commitment” from compensation while still signifying a level of commitment between the partner and the organization. We are using this app inside HolacracyOne and while this works well for us, it still doesn’t address compensation (we have another app for that).

This post describes an app that we are calling ManagerMimicry, which is intended to mirror some traditional manager functions — specifically hiring, firing, promotion, and compensation — but in a distinctly holacratic way. Read the full description below for what it’s all about, but before getting carried away, I want to make it clear that this app only mimics a few functions of a traditional manager (see table). The rules specified in the Holacracy Constitution still apply.

With the above distinctions in mind, I’ll add that the app itself is written in a technical language that assumes familiarity with the terms and processes defined in the Holacracy Constitution, so if you just read it without that background it’s going to seem a bit weird.

To download a PDF version of the ManagerMimicry app, please visit our app store (well, it’s just a web page at this point, but you get the idea). Also, if you have ideas for apps and want to get our app developer kit, please let us know.

Read “Introducing the Holacracy Practitioner Guide” to find more articles.