5 steps to better management

There are many myths and misunderstandings about the meaning and practice of self-organizing work. For example, the idea that this way of working is some kind of exotic, anti-management alternative to a management hierarchy. We see it very differently: as the continued refinement of the management discipline. To become better, and better, and better at management—until you no longer need managers to do the managing. The discipline becomes so built into the system that the system manages and organizes itself, like breathing: a natural, unconscious process. It is not a break from management; it is the perfection of management.

The modules in the Holacracy Constitution allow you to evolve from a management hierarchy toward better management in five steps—not away from management.

Self-organization is not anti-management. Management is a good thing, and management hierarchies have brought many valuable contributions. The last thing we want is to lose those benefits. At the same time, the world has changed significantly, and the classic management approach struggles with things like innovation, adaptability, creativity, speed, engagement, and flexibility. Perhaps there are approaches that work better in today’s context.

In early 2021, Holacracy received a major update, published in version 5 of the Holacracy Constitution. This fifth version offers several benefits we have written about before. What is still not widely known is that Holacracy can be implemented in parts (there are 5 modules), and that different parts of the organization can choose different modules and different pacing. You no longer need to go “all-in” everywhere at once; each circle or department can adopt only what fits their situation.

Enough about Holacracy—it is only a tool to give self-organization a solid foundation. There are other tools and approaches. But the 5 building blocks we describe here are relevant to any approach you choose.

1. Crystal-clear roles and responsibilities

When was the last time you looked at your job description to see what you should focus on? Or looked at a colleague’s job description to understand what to expect from them? Nobody does that. Job descriptions get updated maybe once a year and are rarely used in daily practice.

In Holacracy, we make this practical by using role descriptions instead of job descriptions. These are not theoretical documents; they are living clarity: concrete outcomes of learning together what work needs to be done.

And there’s another difference: in a traditional organization, you typically have one job. In self-organization, you often hold multiple roles. This allows more flexibility in how talent is used and helps separate person from role—something that is harder when job = person.

If you adopt only this step, you still have a management hierarchy. Managers can still assign work. But: they must anchor the work in roles. They cannot micromanage. Their job becomes providing clarity by defining and adjusting roles. This is already better management.

So step one is: encode good management by requiring managers to define clear roles before assigning work.

Roles include:

• A purpose (what the role advances),
• Possible domains (exclusive areas of authority),
• And accountabilities (ongoing activities the role performs).

Roles are grouped in circles—essentially multidisciplinary teams with a shared purpose.

This fractal structure (circles within circles) can scale indefinitely.

Step one is required to begin the journey. The order and pace of later steps can vary per circle.

2. Clear rules for collaboration

Now that we have roles, let’s use them better.

In a management hierarchy, people often go to meetings, talk at length, and seek consensus. How do we enable people to act directly, peer-to-peer, instead of going through their boss or lengthy group discussions?

To do that, people need basic rules about how collaboration works:

• What transparency can be expected?
• How do we make requests of each other?
• How do we influence priorities?

You can create your own rules or use Holacracy’s Article 2. Either way, these rules reduce dependency on managers and reduce meeting overload.

With steps 1 and 2, you still have a hierarchy, but much more peer-to-peer interaction and speed.

3. More efficient operational meetings

This is a popular building block because most meetings are painful.

In Holacracy, operational meetings (tactical meetings) work differently:

• The agenda is built at the start.
• Each agenda item belongs to one person’s tension.
• We ask that person: What do you need?
• Everyone helps them resolve their tension.
• The item ends when the owner says they got what they needed.

The goal is clarity, not consensus. If authority is unclear, the manager does not step in and decide; instead, they update roles to clarify who decides next time.

This is exactly what good management looks like: creating structural clarity, not heroic decision-making.

These meetings can become dramatically more efficient.

Each circle can choose how and when to adopt this practice.

4. Empower roles with explicit authority

Even with roles, rules for collaboration, and efficient meetings, people often still seek permission from the manager “just to be sure,” causing delay.

To unlock empowerment, we must make authority and limits explicit.

The golden rule in Holacracy:

As a Role Lead, you may take any action to fulfill your role’s purpose and accountabilities, as long as you do not violate explicit constraints.

This is where the hierarchy is truly replaced with distributed authority.

Ironically, empowerment requires structure. If people do not know the limits, they also do not know their freedom. Explicit constraints enable autonomy.

This step increases speed dramatically.

Again, adopt it per circle when ready.

5. The governance process

Steps 1 and 4 produce the governance records of a circle:

• Role definitions
• Explicit constraints and policies

The question is: Who updates these records and how?

In a hierarchy, a small group (leadership, HR, consultants) designs the organization.

In self-organization, everyone in the circle can propose governance changes, using integrative decision-making to evolve the structure continuously based on real tensions.

This is the work on the organization (not in it). It is like Stephen Covey’s “sharpening the saw”: slowing down to improve capability.

Like all steps, governance can be adopted per circle.

After these five steps, much has changed, but management has not disappeared.
There is actually more management—only not through managers.

It is better management.