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Holacracy Role Review Template

Holacracy 45 min As needed Role filler, circle lead, and relevant roles (2-6 people)

The Holacracy role review is a focused working session to get clear on a single role before formal governance. Roles in Holacracy are defined by a purpose, a set of accountabilities, and sometimes domains. Over time those drift from reality, and this review surfaces the gaps so the eventual governance proposal is clean.

When to use it

Use a role review when a role feels overloaded, fuzzy, or out of date, when work keeps falling between two roles, or when someone new is taking over a role and wants to understand exactly what it owns. It is a preparation step; the actual changes are adopted later in a governance meeting.

Who attends

Keep it small: the person filling the role, the circle lead if relevant, and any roles whose work overlaps. Two to six people is plenty. A tight group means the conversation stays concrete and grounded in real tension rather than abstract org design.

How to run it

After a brief check-in, read the role exactly as it is currently written so nobody argues from memory. The heart of the session is surfacing tensions: where the purpose is vague, where accountabilities are missing or duplicated, where a domain is contested. Talk through what the role should genuinely own and how that maps to accountabilities and domains. Then draft concrete proposals to carry into governance, because in Holacracy a facilitated session may explore a role but only a governance meeting can formally change it. Close with a short round. The output is clarity plus ready-to-process proposals, not a unilateral redefinition.

Facilitator tips

  • Read the role as written before discussing it; do not work from assumptions.
  • Anchor every change in a real tension someone is experiencing.
  • Distinguish accountabilities, the ongoing activities, from domains, the exclusive control.
  • Leave with proposals for governance, not informal handshake agreements.

Common mistakes

  • Trying to formally change the role here instead of in governance.
  • Packing one role with accountabilities that belong in several.
  • Confusing a domain with an accountability and blurring control.
  • Redesigning the role around imagined needs rather than felt tension.

Get a role crystal clear before governance. Run it in OrgTP and keep each role purpose, accountabilities, and domains visible to the circle.

Agenda

45 minutes total · 6 sections

  1. Check-in Round 5 min
    Each participant shares what has their attention to become present. No cross-talk.
  2. Read the Role As-Is 5 min
    Read the role purpose, accountabilities, and any domains aloud exactly as written so everyone shares the same current definition.
  3. Surface Tensions 15 min
    The role filler and related roles name where the definition is unclear, missing, overlapping, or no longer matches reality.
  4. Clarify Purpose and Accountabilities 12 min
    Discuss what the role should own, what ongoing accountabilities express that, and which domains it may need exclusive control over.
  5. Draft Proposals for Governance 5 min
    Capture clear proposed changes to take into a governance meeting, since role definitions are only formally changed there.
  6. Closing Round 3 min
    Each participant shares a brief reflection. No response or discussion.

Run this meeting live in OrgTP

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