Holacracy in Business
Beeeeep, Beeep, Beeeeep, you realized you’ve hit snooze for the third time and your flight is about to take off in 45 minutes. Shit. You get up. You get ready as fast as you can. You’re late. Oh you’re soooo so late. Should you brush your teeth? That’s disgusting, you brush your teeth. Thankfully you had laid out our travel outfit last night. Thank you, past self! You frantically throw your clothes on. Socks. Yes, we need socks. You run out your door hoping all the lights were turned off. As fast as you can you get into your car. You pray to all the saints and gods and goddesses you’ve ever heard of so you can get all green lights. You pull up to the parking lot and realized you forgot to bring your ID.
Dang it, you used it last night and left it in your other jeans.
The TSA officer has to talk to their supervisor to make sure you can get through security with a photo of your ID on your phone. Time. Is. Ticking. Your flight is boarding. People behind you giving Judge Judy infamous eyeroll look.
You are sweating out of pores you didn’t know could sweat. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. You look at your watch hoping it could miraculously slow down a bit. Just a few more minutes pleaseeee. After a couple of minutes that felt in saecula saeculorum, the supervisor asks for another form of identification so they can let you get through. You’re in.
You start running to your gate. As you get closer you hear the speaker call out your name. Ahhh…
See, the decision to let you through the gate had to be done in a hierarchical manner; which in this timely instance, it slowed down the process. Yes, it’s not TSA’s fault you forgot your ID, however, if the first officer had been equipped to make this decision, you would have gotten through security faster and the people behind you wouldn’t judge you as a first time amateur traveler.
Sometimes hierarchical structures slow processes down, especially when it comes to businesses. This is why I believe in holacracy.
Holacracy isn’t for everyone or every business. Holacracy is an operating system that allows every team member to have accountability and in turn have the power to make decisions. I know it sounds a bit uncomfortable at first, especially because we’ve been operating in hierarchical structures since the history of time.
Think of hierarchy as a triangle, the higher to the tip of the triangle people are, the more power they have over the organization. Holacracy on the other hand operates as a circle, every member of the organization has power over their roles and tasks.
When I started hiring people to support me in my business, I realized I didn’t want to operate in a hierarchical structure. It felt too overwhelming to have a human ready to help me and still default all the decisions to me. Because I have ADHD, decision making is haaard.
Since day one, I have been operating my business in a pretty holacratic structure. This means that every team member is equipped to make decisions without having to get approval from me. No, this doesn’t mean every team member flies by the seat of their pants, in order for holacratic structures to succeed there has to be complete transparency, collaboration, and trust.
It’s not perfect and we’ve been fine tuning over time. It has helped us become a better team because of the constant communication we need to have in order for things to work and function in the most effective matter.
Everyone on the team must have a clear understanding of the company goals and positioning. If the foundation of the business isn’t clear, then any operating system will collapse and you’ll probably default to a hierarchical structure. Because it’s what we know.
Of course, as the owner of this business, I still have to make a lot of decisions. Deciding the font color for a video that will be posted on social media isn’t mine to make. We have brand guidelines in place that provide enough freedom and structure to the team to decide. And it works beautifully. I can focus on the decisions that belong to me and the team is always communicating with each other, which is key.
Yes, there are businesses that are built over a hierarchical structure, and the thought of even considering holacracy feels way too shaky. Business structures are like business models, there’s different options for different tastes. And whatever rocks your boat, is perfectly fine.
I share the holacratic system not to change your mind about hierarchy, but to invite you to think about doing thing in a different way in case you’ve been thinking about it lately.
And to be honest, holacracy is incredibly liberating.
