Preamble
The "Ratifiers" hereby adopt this "Constitution" as the formal authority structure of the "Organization". In so doing, they cede their power to govern and run the Organization into the rules it defines, except for any powers they lack the authority to delegate.
The Ratifiers or their successors may amend or repeal this Constitution in writing, relying on whatever authority allowed them to adopt it. That power operates from outside the framework: as long as this Constitution is in force, it does not permit breaking its rules.
Any pre-existing rules and systems remain in full force, but may not be expanded or modified except through the processes of this Constitution. They lose all legitimacy as soon as those processes produce something that replaces or contradicts them.
The Organization may designate "Partners" beyond the Ratifiers to take part in its governance and operations, provided each Partner agrees to abide by all the provisions of this Constitution. The Organization defines how this status is granted or removed, unless the Ratifiers specify otherwise.
Each Partner may rely on the authorities granted by this Constitution to the full extent that the Ratifiers held them before adoption. Their responsibilities and constraints arise solely from this Constitution and the outputs of its processes, and from any legal duties they owe the Organization. No implicit expectation, and no dictate issued outside the authority granted by this Constitution, has any power over a Partner.
Article 1: Roles and Circles
A "Role" is a unit of organizational work that a person can fill and then energize on behalf of the Organization. Whoever fills a Role is its "Role Lead".
Each Role has a descriptive name and one or more of the following:
- A "Purpose": a capacity, potential, or goal that the Role will pursue or express.
- One or more "Domains": assets, processes, or other things the Role controls exclusively as its property.
- One or more "Accountabilities": ongoing activities the Role carries out in service of other Roles or to support its Purpose.
A Role may also hold "Policies": grants or constraints of authority, or special rules that apply within that Role. Anything concerning people's behavior falls under Relational Agreements (section 2.4).
Responsibilities of Role Leads. As a Role Lead, you are responsible for:
- sensing and processing Tensions: comparing the actual expression of your Role to its ideal potential (each gap is a "Tension") and taking initiative to reduce them;
- clarifying and tracking your work: regularly defining the actions and outcomes worth pursuing in your Role, capturing them in writing, and keeping them up to date;
- executing: whenever you have time to act in a Role, choosing and carrying out whatever adds the most value to the Organization.
Circles. A "Circle" is a container for organizing Roles and Policies around a common Purpose. The Roles and Policies within a Circle make up its "Governance". The inside of every Role is itself a Circle, which may in turn hold its own Roles and Policies. This inner Circle is a "Sub-Circle" of the Circle that holds it, and that broader Circle is its "Super-Circle".
The broadest Circle, which holds the Purpose of the whole Organization, is its "Anchor Circle". It holds all the authorities and Domains of the Organization and has no Super-Circle.
Any Circle may appoint a "Facilitator" and other structural Roles defined by this Constitution. These Roles are designated by the Circle Lead. A Circle may add Accountabilities or Domains to them, but may not amend their Purpose nor what the Constitution assigns them.
Circle Leads. Serving as a Role Lead also means serving as the "Circle Lead" within that Role's internal Circle. The Circle Lead carries the Purpose of that Role, along with all of its Accountabilities that are not delegated to other Roles or processes within the Circle. They are a Member of their own Circle, which they run from within, and a Member of the Super-Circle that holds their Role. The Anchor Circle has no Circle Lead, unless a Policy says otherwise.
A Circle Lead may:
- assign the Circle's Roles to one or more willing people, and revoke those assignments at any time;
- automatically cover the Circle's unfilled Roles;
- define "Strategies" to guide prioritization in the Circle.
A Circle may add Accountabilities or Domains to the Circle Lead Role and later remove them. Such additions automatically apply, recursively, to every Sub-Circle. A Circle may also remove an authority or responsibility from the Circle Lead by placing it on another Role; but it may not remove the Circle Lead Role itself.
Facilitator. Any Circle that needs one may appoint a Facilitator. Purpose: "Circle governance and operational practices aligned with the Constitution". The Facilitator:
- facilitates the Circle's regular Tactical and Governance Meetings;
- helps the Circle and its Members use the processes defined by this Constitution in day-to-day operation, outside meetings as well as during them.
A Circle may add Accountabilities or Domains to this Role, but may not amend its Purpose nor what the Constitution assigns it.
Source of Truth
A "Source of Truth" is a Domain of a particular kind: a repository, registry, or body of information designated as the reference that is authoritative for the Circle's work. "Authoritative" means that, when other information contradicts it (a perception, a memory, a competing document), the Source of Truth prevails: everyone relies on it as the reference that holds for acting and deciding, until it is itself updated. It does not claim to state what is true in the absolute; it settles which reference holds. Controlling it means holding the authority to decide which reference is authoritative and to keep it up to date, not to decree reality. Like any Domain, a Source of Truth is subject to the holarchy: that of a Sub-Circle cannot prevail against that of a Super-Circle, which takes precedence in the event of a conflict.
Domain Delegation
A Circle may delegate one of its Domains to one of its Roles. The Role Lead may then control that Domain on behalf of the Circle and create Policies to govern it. The Circle, however, keeps the right to define its own Policies over that same Domain, and those prevail in the event of a conflict. Delegating a Domain does not delegate any authority to spend money or assets, unless explicitly stated.
Secretary
*Stance: the Secretary is in charge of the Circle's records and keeps them up to date. They need not know the whole Constitution by heart, nor judge what is being decided. When a conflict of interpretation arises, they have the authority to rule so the Circle can carry on.*
Purpose: "Stabilize the Circle's constitutionally-required records and meetings".
The Secretary:
- schedules the Circle's regular Tactical and Governance Meetings;
- captures and publishes the outputs of those meetings, as well as Governance decisions made asynchronously;
- keeps the Circle's official records up to date (Roles, Policies, Strategies) and controls that Domain;
- rules, on request, on conflicts of interpretation of this Constitution;
- may strike a Governance decision that violates this Constitution.
A Circle may add Accountabilities or Domains to this Role, but may not amend its Purpose nor what the Constitution assigns it.
Integrative Election Process
The Facilitator triggers new elections for elected Roles when their term expires.
Process Breakdown
The Facilitator may declare a Process Breakdown in their Circle or in a Sub-Circle.
Note: article 1
*Note: Nothing requires describing a Role in detail at the moment of its creation. Many organizations start with a few broad Roles, then refine them as Tensions arise. Governance does not need to be complete to be useful: it only needs to be clearer than what it replaces.*
Article 2: Rules of Cooperation
Duty of Transparency. You must share, upon request from any Role Lead:
- the status of your current work: what you are pursuing, your relative priorities, and an estimate of when you expect to deliver. An estimate reflects your current context; it is not a promise;
- the metrics you track in your Roles;
- any other information that is readily available and would cause no harm to share.
Duty of Processing. You must promptly process requests from other Role Leads:
- if asked for an update on your work, you must at least define and communicate a next step, or explain what you are waiting for before you can move forward;
- if asked to take on some work, you must accept it if it makes sense for one of your Roles, or explain your refusal, or offer an alternative that meets the requester's intent;
- if asked for permission to impact a Domain you control, you must allow it unless it would reduce your capacity to fulfill your Role, in which case you must explain why.
Duty of Prioritization. You must prioritize your attention according to these principles:
- process inbound requests before executing your own work. You may batch your responses at a convenient time of day, as long as you remain prompt;
- attend Tactical and Governance Meetings, ahead of executing your own work, when explicitly asked to for a specific meeting, unless you already have plans scheduled at that time;
- honor the official Strategies and priorities of your Circles, treating them as more important than your own judgment of what matters;
- read any deadline as a prioritization signal, not as an absolute obligation to deliver regardless of the consequences.
Relational Agreements
As a Partner, you may make "Relational Agreements" with other Partners to regulate how you work together.
Binding agreements. Any commitment you have entered into in writing with the Organization, and whose terms provide no unilateral exit (employment contract, internal regulations, signed engagement letter), remains fully enforceable under this Constitution. You have a duty to honor it. These agreements prevail over the other provisions of this article in the event of a conflict.
Behavioral agreements. You may also make agreements with another Partner about your behavior at work: modes of communication, cooperation practices, mutual commitments to concrete acts. No one may be compelled to enter one. These agreements may not contradict the duties defined in this article. Either party may end one at any time by notifying the other. Anyone facilitating a meeting may enforce these agreements within it, as long as they do not conflict with this Constitution.
Note: article 2
*Note: These duties describe a minimum, not a ceiling. Many teams gain from making explicit, as Relational Agreements, expectations that this article leaves to judgment: the response time considered "prompt", the channels where one commits to being reachable, the frequency of sharing metrics. Putting words on the implicit is often what defuses the most Tensions.*
Article 3: Tactical Meetings
The Circle coordinates its work day to day and its Members engage one another in their responsibilities. The form this coordination takes is defined below.
Tactical Meeting (process)
You may convene a "Tactical Meeting" to coordinate the work and engage one another in your responsibilities. A Circle is not required to convene a Tactical Meeting. The Secretary of each Circle is responsible for scheduling regular Tactical Meetings for the Circle.
The Circle's Facilitator facilitates the regular meetings. For any meeting convened by another Partner, that Partner facilitates it or delegates the facilitation.
Unless a Circle's Policy says otherwise, the process is as follows:
- Check-in. A quick round to make yourself available for the meeting. No reactions.
- Sync. Each participant shares whatever they find useful about their current work. No discussion, no reactions.
- Triage items. Participants build an agenda with a short label for each item, then process each one in turn: the owner makes concrete requests of the other Partners present. The Facilitator manages the time and must try to process every item within the time available, with the right to cut an item short to do so.
- Closing. Each participant briefly shares a closing reflection on the meeting. No reactions.
A default facilitation guide describes this process in detail. Each Circle may decide on its own process by writing a Policy.
Note: article 3
*Note: The cadence and format of Tactical Meetings are not imposed. Some Circles meet weekly, others prefer a short and frequent check-in; some hold them in person, others entirely remotely. The default process is a proven starting point, not an obligation: a Circle that feels it is constraining or missing something may write its own.*
Article 4: Distributed Authority
As a Role Lead, you have the authority to take any action or make any decision to enact your Role's Purpose and Accountabilities, as long as you don't break a Policy of this Constitution or of any Circle that contains it.
Policies and Domains. You may not break the Policies of your Role or of any Circle that contains it. You may act freely on your own Domains. To impact a Domain you don't control, you must get permission from whoever controls it, either directly, or by announcing your intent and allowing a reasonable time for anyone to object. No objection within that time counts as permission for that specific action.
Spending resources. You may not spend the Organization's money, nor materially use or commit any of its assets (equipment, data, rights, reputation, or time), without prior authorization from the Role that controls those resources. To get this authorization, announce your intent in writing and allow a reasonable time: if nothing blocks it within that time, you are authorized to spend within the stated terms. The Circle or Role that controls the money may set another method for organizing and controlling resource spending by writing a dedicated policy.
Individual Initiative
Individual Initiative. You may act beyond your authority or break Policies if all of the following are true:
- you are acting in good faith in service of a Role,
- you believe the action will resolve more Tension than it creates,
- it commits no unauthorized spending,
- waiting would be significantly more costly than acting.
In that case, you must immediately inform the affected Role Leads, take the corrective steps requested, and refrain from doing the same again if asked.
Note: article 4
*Note: This Constitution sets neither a specific spending threshold nor a precise duration for "reasonable time". This is intentional: these benchmarks depend on the size and culture of each organization. A Circle that feels the need may write them into a Policy, rather than leaving them to each person's implicit judgment.*
Article 5: Governance Process
To change a Circle's Governance (creating, amending, or removing a Role or a Policy, or holding an election), you must use the processes defined in this article.
Circle Members. Only the "Circle Members" take part in its Governance Process: the Partners who serve as Role Lead for a Role within it.
Policies. A Policy may only apply to the Circle's Roles, to grant or constrain an authority, or to regulate access to a Domain. It applies only to the Circle that decides it, unless it explicitly states that it also applies to Sub-Circles. A Policy may also change a default rule of this Constitution, only where the Constitution explicitly allows it, and in that case it is recursive in the Sub-Circles.
Integrative Decision-Making Process
Any Circle Member may initiate a change to Governance by sharing a "Proposal" in writing with all the other Members, through a channel approved by the Secretary, or in a "Governance Meeting" convened by the Secretary.
To be valid, a Proposal must: describe a Tension the "Proposer" senses in one of their Roles, draw on a real example, and explain how it would have reduced that Tension.
The process unfolds in five successive steps:
1. Clarifying questions. The other Members may ask the Proposer to clarify the Proposal or the Tension. No reactions are allowed. 2. Reaction round. Each Member may share their reaction to the Proposal, in turn, with no dialogue and no reactions to reactions. 3. Amend and clarify. The Proposer may amend their own Proposal in light of the reactions, or clarify its intent. Any amendment must remain in service of the original Tension and not address the Tensions of other Members. 4. Objection round. Each Member states whether they have an Objection to the Proposal as amended. An "Objection" is valid only if all of the following are true: - it shows that the Proposal would reduce the Circle's capacity to enact its Purpose or Accountabilities; - it shows that the Proposal would limit the "Objector's" capacity to enact a Role they represent in the Circle; - the concern does not already exist in the absence of the Proposal; - the harm identified is certain to occur, or, if only anticipated, too great to risk trying the Proposal.
A Proposal that violates this Constitution always constitutes a valid Objection. 5. Integration. For each valid Objection, the Proposer and the Objector seek together an amendment that resolves the Objection without losing the original Tension, with the help of the other Members if needed.
Once all valid Objections are integrated, or if there are none, the Proposal is adopted.
A default facilitation guide describes this process in detail. This process may not be modified.
Integrative Election Process
Any Member may at any time request an election to choose a Facilitator or a Secretary. The election is conducted by the Facilitator or, failing that, by the Circle Lead. The process is as follows:
- whoever conducts the election describes the Role and sets the term of office;
- each Member privately names in writing the candidate who seems best suited, giving their own name and their reason;
- the nominations are shared with all Members;
- each Member may change their nomination, explaining the reason;
- whoever conducts the election proposes the candidate with the most nominations. In the event of a tie, they may propose the candidate who nominated themselves, propose the incumbent, or draw lots;
- Members may raise Objections. In that case, whoever conducts the election opens a discussion to resolve them, or returns to the previous step to propose another candidate.
A default facilitation guide describes this process in detail. This process may not be modified.
Process Breakdown
A "Process Breakdown" occurs when a Circle adopts a pattern of behavior that violates this Constitution. The Facilitator of the Circle or of the Super-Circle may declare one. The Facilitator of the Super-Circle then gains the authority to restore due process, including by taking over as Facilitator or Secretary, or by assigning an additional Circle Lead whose decisions prevail over those of the other Circle Leads.
Note: article 5
*Note: The Integrative Decision-Making Process is experienced very differently from one organization to another: some run it almost entirely asynchronously, others reserve their governance meetings for that sole purpose. Starting in meetings while the process takes shape, then shifting toward async as trust builds, is a common path.*