Holacracy – an alternative to the traditional hierarchy: Sally McCutchion

Is there an alternative to traditional hierarchy, lack of career progression and being boxed into a single role? Holocracy is a self managing alternative to running organizations which provides a peer to peer operating system with:

  • Dynamic Roles replacing static job descriptions
  • Distributed Authority to replace Delegated Authority
  • Rapid Iterations replace big Re-Orgs
  • Transparent Rules replace office politics

Holacracy provides a leaderless alternative to traditional hierarchy and has been implemented by forward looking companies such as Zappos and Medium. Last week, I went on a half day workshop run by Sally McCutchion With my interest in disruptive ideas, I wanted to find out more. It was an informative and interactive experience. Group exercises with the other attendees gave a taste of what it was like to work in a Holacracy. Key takeaways:

  • Top down command and control is replaced by rules and process with emphasis on a strong facilitator to ensure that the focus is kept on the company’s interests and not individual politics
  • Employees are encouraged to do “self work” to ensure that they are aligned with the team
  • Tactical meetings are held frequently amongst to surface “tension”, so everyone has a voice and can drive change
  • Governance meetings are held where changes to teams, roles, policies and accountabilities can be suggested and implemented

For me the most appealing thing about the vision is the idea that company politics which can be so detrimental, can be reduced, so that people focus on what’s best for the company. After all, a situation like the one below kills productivity 🙂 Next workshop is on 18th Sep sign up here: https://lnkd.in/dVKP48H

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