Holacracy Constitution v6 [Alpha]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.