Holacracy

     Yesterday's in class presentation was on Holacracy. I had not heard of this concept prior to Jason and Erin's introduction of it for their presentation. Holacracy is a self-management theory that involves a non-traditional style of management. A term used to describe the concept is flat management. This means that employees of an organization are on a more equal playing field than in the traditional work setting where hierarchies are determined by position. In a holacracy, roles are defined around work rather than people, and are always changing. This means there is no set assignments of authority, and no set managers. Rather, authority varies and is distributed depending on the task. The core idea of holacracy is based around self-organization. Similarly, rules are transparent, and everyone follows the same rules regardless of position.
     Initially, this management style seems to be lacking structure entirely. But there are ways in which holacracy implements structure within the organization. Firstly, while there are "no managers," there are assigned leaders. Administrators in any organization have two major functions: resource distribution/guidance and professional development. In holacracy, these two functions are split into two different leadership "positions": the "lead link" and the "people people". The "lead link" is in charge of delegation and ensuring people know what they need to do and how to do it, while the "people people" assist in professional development. Additionally, the typical pyramidal hierarchy is replaced by circles. The circles consist of an anchor circle, general company circle, and sub-circles. This is allows for a better definition of where people are stationed. Lastly, three different types of meetings held on a pre-determined basis. Tactical meetings are held weekly and allow for circle members to ensure they're on the same page and address any problems. Governance meetings are held monthly and refine circle operating structure. Strategy meetings are held every six months and review circles' overall progress and make long term goals. These small pieces of structure allow for the organization to function properly.
     Zappos is a company that practices holacracy, and is often used as an example of how holacracy can be successful. We spent a lot of class talking about the way in which Zappos is run, particularly the Las Vegas office. We read an article written by an ex-employee about working at Zappos. Zappos actually has a contract in place that must be signed by each employee to agree to the terms of holacracy. Most of the article highlighted the fun and easy-going environment at Zappos created by holacracy. The office is fun and people even decorate the office in crazy ways, however they want (pictured below). It definitely seems like a positive work environment. However, several negatives/concerns were brought up both in the article and in our discussion in class. Some of these concerns include unclear definitions of what is appropriate, blurred lines between friends and co-workers, and discomfort in lack of authority. This led us to discuss a bit about how holacracy would play out in a healthcare environment. We came to a pretty clear conclusion that the success of holacracy is situational depending upon the industry. We felt that in healthcare holacracy wouldn't work well, because people's livelihoods are being dealt with, and in such serious and/or personal situations people find comfort in authority, which is unclear to nonexistent in holacracy. It is an interesting concept, and I am curious to see how it may develop over the coming years in other organizations.

(Pictured above: cubicles within the Zappos Las Vegas office).

Find out more at http://www.holacracy.org