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Holacracy Circle Lead Sync Template

Holacracy 45 min Biweekly Circle leads and lead links (3-8 people)

The Holacracy circle lead sync connects the people holding the lead link role across circles. The lead link helps a circle express its purpose, allocates roles, and sets priorities for the circle. When several circles share resources and direction, their leads need a regular forum to align, without reaching into each other circles and overriding their autonomy.

When to use it

Run this sync biweekly, or at whatever cadence keeps interdependent circles coordinated. It is most useful when circles compete for the same people or budget, when priorities need to be balanced across the organization, or when a tension keeps bouncing between circles with no clear home.

Who attends

The circle leads, or lead links, of the circles that need to coordinate, usually three to eight people. A facilitator keeps the sync on its rounds and a secretary captures commitments. This is a coordination forum, not a management layer; decisions about a circle still belong inside that circle.

How to run it

Open with a check-in, then each lead gives a quick health snapshot of their circle so the group shares context. The core of the meeting is priority and resource alignment: deciding together how shared people and attention are allocated for the period ahead. Then surface cross-circle tensions and, crucially, route each one to where it belongs rather than solving it informally here. A tension about role structure goes to a governance meeting; an operational blocker goes to tactical. Close by confirming who carries what back into their circle. The sync coordinates and routes; it does not govern circles from above.

Facilitator tips

  • Coordinate across circles without making decisions that belong inside one.
  • Route each cross-circle tension to governance, tactical, or direct conversation.
  • Keep the health snapshots brief; this is alignment, not status theater.
  • End with explicit ownership of who carries each tension home.

Common mistakes

  • Turning the sync into a management meeting that overrides circle autonomy.
  • Solving structural tensions informally instead of routing them to governance.
  • Letting health snapshots sprawl into long status updates.
  • Leaving without clear ownership of cross-circle actions.

Keep your circles aligned without a hierarchy. Run it in OrgTP and keep cross-circle priorities, resourcing, and tensions in one shared view.

Agenda

45 minutes total · 5 sections

  1. Check-in Round 5 min
    Each circle lead shares what has their attention across their circle. No cross-talk.
  2. Circle Health Snapshot 10 min
    Each lead gives a brief read on their circle: momentum, key metrics, and any structural or staffing tension building.
  3. Priority and Resource Alignment 15 min
    Align on shared priorities and how people, budget, and attention are allocated across circles for the period ahead.
  4. Cross-Circle Tensions 10 min
    Surface tensions that span circles and decide where each one is best processed, in governance, tactical, or directly between roles.
  5. Commitments and Routing 5 min
    Confirm who carries each tension or action back into their circle and the next sync.

Run this meeting live in OrgTP

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