Introducing the Holacracy Practitioner’s Guide

NOTE: Bookmark this page in your browser for quick reference — new articles are added all the time.

Learning how to get things done in Holacracy takes time. It’s absolutely worth the investment, but it’s like learning a new language.

And since we learn languages to use them, the best approach is everyday immersion. You simply can’t understand the real-world of Holacracy practice just by reading the Holacracy Book or the Holacracy Constitution.

But experience alone won’t guarantee learning either. We need help. We need guidance and coaching to help us with everyday translation.

To that end, I’m introducing a series I’m calling the “Holacracy Practitioner’s Guide.” From years of helping clients adopt Holacracy (and working inside a Holacracy-powered company everyday), I’ve collected a huge library of amazing and practical coaching tips.

Now, I’d like to share them with you. Piece by piece. As I write them, until there is a comprehensive reference guide for all Holacracy practitioners to use day-to-day.

Topics will include the core Holacracy stuff (Secretary, Policies, etc.), but also auxiliary issues like “Deadlines,” “Holacracy Adoption/Implementation,” and “Compensation.”

The content is intended for current Holacracy practitioners, meaning I won’t provide broad introductions to these concepts, but rather short and punchy guidance which requires some familiarity.

Again, since this will be a reference guide, don’t expect essays. Instead, each topic will be presented as a list of bite-sized nuggets, each one distinct, but connected to a larger main theme (e.g. Election Process 101: Common Mistakes, Election Process 101: Process Walk-through, etc.).

As they are published, please share any feedback you have. Positive or negative. “Does this approach make sense? Did I miss something?” Please, let me know since this is an experimental way to create and distribute content like this.

Table of Contents (New articles will be added here)

Holacracy’s Core Assumptions:

• Authority vs. Good Judgment
• Holacracy Basics: The Intention to Adhere
• Two Helpful Unwritten Holacracy Rules
• This Time it’s Personal: Why Holacracy Differentiates Role and Soul
• The Art of Constructive Disengagement

Understanding the Basics:

• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Purpose
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Accountabilities
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Strategies
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Prioritizations
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Tensions

Understanding Tactical Meetings:

• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Check-ins
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Checklists
• Process for Triaging a Tactical Item
• Holacracy Tactical Meeting Phrase Book
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Projects and Project Teams

Understanding Governance & Governance Meetings:

• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Check-ins
• Holacracy Basics: Metaphors for Understanding Governance
• Holacracy Governance Meeting vs Conventional Group Problem-Solving
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Domains
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Policies
• Policies Governing People in Holacracy®: How NOT to Handle Things Working Hours, Dress Code, and Social Norms
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Objections
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Integration
• Holacracy Basics: Integrating a Not Valid Governance Output (NVGO) Objection
• Getting Stuck and Unstuck in Integration
• Raising Valid Objections: Are You Anticipating?

Understanding the Power Shift:

• Lead Link 101: What the Lead Link Does NOT Do
• Lead Link 101: What You Can Request from the Lead Link
• Why Isn’t the Lead Link Elected?
• Holacracy Basics: How to Make Sure Someone Does Something
• A “Manager Mimicry” App for Holacracy-Powered Companies
• Four Types of Power
• Persuasion is More Powerful Than Force

Self-Management/Individual Practice

• 4 Rules-of-Thumb to Improve Your Decision-Making
• Holacracy Basics: Understanding Deadlines and Projections (Part 1)
• Understanding Projections (Part 2): Best Practices for Requesting & Giving Rough Estimates
• Understanding Projections (Part 3): Phrases to Watch Out For
• 4 Hacks Every Role-Filler Should Know

Holacracy Secretary Guide

• GlassFrog for Secretaries: Four Short How-to Videos

Holacracy Facilitator’s Guide

• Facilitator Guide: Facilitating a Holacracy® Tactical Meeting
• Holacracy Facilitation: A Better Way to Facilitate Holacracy® Governance Meetings
• Facilitator Basics: Understanding Objections
• Facilitator Guide: A Better Way to Test Objections
• Holacracy Election Process 101: Common Mistakes & Tips
• Holacracy Election Process 101: Election Process Walk-through
• Facilitator’s Guide: A Facilitator’s Mental Checklist for Tactical Meetings

Holacracy Coaching

• Holacracy Facilitator → Coach Learning Pathway
• 17 Holacracy Coaching Principles
• Intervening as a Holacracy Coach
• Preparing for the Holacracy Tactical Facilitation Assessment
• Preparing for the Holacracy Governance Facilitation Assessment
• Rules that Can Be Modified in Holacracy v5.0

Adopting Holacracy

• A Holacracy Bootstrap Guide
• A Holacracy Whole Product
• Holacracy Basics: What Do You Do When Someone Breaks a Rule?
• Conducting a Holacracy Governance Audit

Relationships and Communication

• Why Holacracy Requires New Ways of Speaking
• Communication Types in Holacracy
• Our Inner Gangster
• Why You Shouldn’t Expect Favors

General Holacracy Articles

• [White Paper Summary] Holacracy: Discover a Better Way of Working
• Holacracy and Growth Mindset
• 5 Keys to Habit Change in Holacracy
• 7 Things You Can Learn from Holacracy (Even If You Don’t Practice It)
• Five Critiques of Holacracy