“Holacracy” refers to a style of management that actually eliminates the need for managers. In a Holacracy, every individual is her own manager. Employees don’t report to managers or get told by bosses what to do when. Instead, they’re responsible for keeping themselves busy and on track and for making sure that that team members know what they’re up to.
Such a unique and unconventional management style calls for unique and unconventional people! If you can call these 10 traits your own, then you’re probably a great fit for a Holacracy.
You keep your calendars, to do lists and notes up to date without being told to do so. You’re on top of your schedule. You don’t need to be reminded about a deadline or a meeting because you’ve got your own system set up for reminding your self.
When you run into an obstacle, you don’t let it bring you down (because you know that you’d be bringing down the whole team if you did). Instead, you face it with a smile on your face! OK, maybe you’re not smiling. But you’re certainly not going to break down in tears, because your positive attitude is reminding you that nothing’s impossible.
You don’t need to be told what to do, because you’ve already taken the initiative and decided what to do yourself. You’re confident in taking on responsibilities without being assigned them, because you’re actively seeking experiences that you can own.
You care about the little things as much as you do about the big picture. Because you want to get it right the first time, you don’t need every bit of your work scrutinized by your manager, your manager’s manager, your manager’s manager’s manager – you get the idea.
You can survive on your own. You don’t need to be given a list of explicit instructions because you’re capable of writing your own.
Although you’re great at working by yourself, for yourself, you know that being a team player is just as important. Instead of trying to take charge of your team members, you know that they, just like you, are in charge of themselves. Even when their ideas are different from yours, you work with them—not against them.
You know that sitting silently by yourself isn’t going to help you accomplish anything. You take full responsibility for communicating with the people who need to know what you’re doing and how, when and why you’re doing it.
You can think unconventionally. You can be your own decision maker and problem solver because when faced with a hurdle, you don’t just take the easiest way around it – you approach it from all sides to determine the best way.
You are prepared to take on personal responsibility for all of your tasks and projects, from the smallest to most impactful. When you say you’re going to fix something, you fix it. When you take the reins on a project, you follow it through to completion.
OK this one’s pretty obvious. You are your own boss. You don’t need to be “leading” anyone else, but you’re always in charge of yourself.
If there's one thing that's true of the Holacracy, it's that it isn't for everyone. But if you're an organized, driven self-manager with an independent streak who can also play well with others, you might just love working in a Holacratic environment.
And if this sounds like you, we should meet!
At the end of the day, using AI comes down to finding a balance—leveraging for productivity without losing the skills that give our work depth and personality.