The Holacracy tactical meeting is the operational heartbeat of a circle. It exists to get work moving: surface the tensions blocking progress, convert each one into a clear next-action or project, and keep operational data visible. It is fast, structured, and deliberately stripped of long discussion.

When to use it

Run a tactical meeting weekly for each circle that does ongoing operational work. It is the place to clear day-to-day blockers, request things from other roles, and report progress. Use the governance meeting instead when the friction is about how roles or policies are defined rather than getting work done.

Who attends

All members filling roles in the circle attend, typically four to twelve people. A facilitator runs the process and protects the format, and a secretary captures next-actions, projects, and notes. These are roles for the meeting, not seniority; anyone trained can hold them.

How to run it

The meeting moves through fixed rounds. It opens with a check-in round where each person speaks once and is not interrupted, which clears mental noise before work begins. Checklist and metrics reviews surface operational reality as raw data, not conversation. Project updates are equally crisp. The bulk of the time is triage: the circle builds a one-word agenda live, then works each item one at a time. For every item the facilitator asks the owner what they need, and the rest of the circle helps them get to a concrete next-action or project. A closing round ends the meeting with each person reflecting briefly. The discipline is the point: capture data fast, save discussion for the owner who raised it.

Facilitator tips

Hold the rounds. During check-in and closing, one voice at a time with no cross-talk.
Drive every agenda item to a captured next-action or project, not a vague agreement.
Keep asking the item owner, what do you need? The circle serves their tension.
Park anything that is really a role or policy question and route it to governance.

Common mistakes

Letting checklist and metrics reviews drift into discussion instead of pure data.
Solving tensions for the whole room rather than for the person who raised them.
Trying to change role definitions in tactical, which belongs in governance.
Skipping the closing round, which is where the meeting actually lands.

Want this to run cleanly every week? Run it in OrgTP and keep your circle checklists, metrics, and next-actions visible between meetings.

Agenda

60 minutes total · 6 sections

Check-in Round 5 min

Each participant calls out what has their attention so the room can be present. No discussion or cross-talk during the round.
Checklist Review 5 min

The facilitator reads recurring actions and each role responds check or no-check. Capture data only; defer any discussion to triage.
Metrics Review 5 min

Each role with a metric reports its current number so the circle sees real-time operational reality without commentary.
Project Updates 10 min

The facilitator asks each role for updates since last meeting. Roles answer new or no update; questions are saved for triage.
Agenda Building and Triage 30 min

Capture one-word agenda items, then process each tension into a next-action or project. The agenda item owner drives; everyone else helps them get what they need.
Closing Round 5 min

Each participant shares a brief reflection on the meeting. No response or discussion; the round simply closes the space.

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Holacracy Tactical Meeting Template