Beyond the Holacracy Hype Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary flashcard set covering key terms, frameworks, and tools related to self-managed teams and holacracy discussed in the Harvard Business Review article.

Holacracy

The most widely adopted system of self-management, developed in 2007 by Brian Robertson, where authority and decision making are distributed among fluid circles and roles throughout the organization, governed by a complex constitution.

Circle

In a holacracy, a group of roles working toward the same purpose; in essence, a team that forms or disbands as the organization's needs change.

Role

In a holacracy circle, a set of responsibilities for a certain outcome or process that can be created, revised, or destroyed, with individuals usually holding more than one role across multiple circles.

Lead Link

In a holacracy circle, the role responsible for assigning other roles and allocating resources, holding some characteristics of a traditional manager but subject to the circle's governance process.

CLOU (Colleague Letter of Understanding)

An agreement crafted by each employee at Morning Star in consultation with relevant colleagues, outlining the employee's work commitments, responsibilities, activities, goals, and detailed performance metrics.

Teal Organization

Frederic Laloux's term for a kind of organization designed to enable whole individuals to self-organize and self-manage to achieve an organic organizational purpose.

Podularity

A system of self-management rooted in agile software development in which each basic unit, or pod, is treated as a microcosm of the whole business and acts on its behalf.

Agile

A theory of management originating in software development where cross-functional, self-managed teams solve complex problems iteratively and adaptively with rapid and flexible responses to changing customer needs.

Cabal

At video game developer Valve, a multidisciplinary project team that forms organically when employees vote with their feet to work toward a major goal.

Reliability

An organizational state characterized by generating predictable returns for shareholders, adhering to regulations, maintaining stable employment levels, and fulfilling customers' expectations.

Adaptability

An organizational state characterized by making adjustments in production to meet local needs or making fundamental shifts in strategy or capabilities.

People Points

A internal tool tried at Zappos where circles receive points to recruit individuals into roles and each employee receives a budget of 100 points to allocate to roles as they choose.

Role Marketplace

A tool developed by Zappos to quickly post open roles and manage applications, with lead links making final decisions on who fills the roles.

Bureaucracy 2.0

A concept describing self-managing systems that, like traditional Max Weber bureaucracy, vest authority in depersonalized rules and roles rather than status or wealth, but operate with less rigidity.

General Company Circle (GCC)

The overarching circle at Zappos that contains every other circle and subcircle, and is the only circle not nested within another.