Eman Zaka (125)
Introduction to Management
Assignment: 02
March 12th, 2024
WHAT IS A HOLACRACY?
Holacracy is a concept of self-management among individuals of an organization, which
distributes authority and decision-making powers, down to the last member. Job
descriptions are called roles and goals are called purpose, in a holacratic setting. The
actions that contribute to the purpose are called accountability and the rift between a role’s
purpose and its accountability, is tension. Individuals are organized into containments called
circles. Holacracy is all about immediate action and the (gradual) elimination of red tape.
Brian Robertson and Tom Thomison developed the concept of holacracy and later
adopted it, into an organization called Zappos (an online retailer). Other organizations
which adopted holacracy are: Liip (mobile app development company of Switzerland,
adopted holacracy in 2016) and Springest (learning software company of Netherland,
adopted holacracy in 2012).
POTENTIAL PROS OF A HOLACRACY?
The self-governing environment gives an opportunity to (introverted) employees to
finally take the initiatives they had been hesitating to take before, to be up-front about
the allocation of tasks. Addressing tasks, you would like to manage does not come easy
when you have been suppressed by a manager for half your career.
The liberated environment may offer workers a feeling of job satisfaction/workplace
spirituality, intensifying their loyalty to the organization. Workers may feel a sense of
belonging, after experiencing workplace spirituality in a holacratic environment.
Workers may feel empowered when handling tasks they have been assigned to, doing
everything in their own way. No one likes being told what to do, or how to do it. It’s
always more fun to do things your own way and pick up on new experiences along the
way.
Workers may find the workplace to be peaceful when there are no managers around.
Managers can be intimidating individuals, who scrutinize their employees severely,
which leads to deterioration of employee performance. In a workplace where employees
are given a liberated environment to work, it is crucial that, that level of comfort should
be met.
Clear communication instead of instructions maybe it for employee engagement and
reliance. Communicating instructions and instructing are two different things.
Communicating is easy, while reporting and following instructions is difficult, as the
instructions often get misinterpreted easily.
Employee performance may improve because of employee empowerment. Employees
may find it easier to focus on a task with no manager around, no one to tell them what to
do, no one to hold them off while they do the task.
POTENTIAL CHALLENGES OF A HOLACRACY?
A lack of accountability may prosper in a holacratic organization, how would the truth
be determined? It would be easy to play the blame game in a holacratic environment,
just tossing the blame from one person to the other.
The transitioning phase may be met with resistance of managers. Powerful beings, such
as managers, do not back down quickly (or easily) especially when they’ve got
something to lose- the power they yield in the traditional hierarchy.
The transitional procedure may be well-liked or disliked by some (or many), it may be
hard to adopt in the organization, it may be difficult or time consuming to introduce a
new concept to an organization, some employees may fit in well with the holacratic style
while others may prefer to go back to the traditional hierarchal way of doing things.
Giving too much freedom to employees may be a challenge, as role ambiguity may pop
up here and there, this may lead to chaos and confusion within the workplace which
may deviate the entire team from the actual task at hand.
Employees may find themselves in a fix when they take on too many tasks all at once,
they may feel pressured (once again) and even stressed to meet deadlines. This may
lead to employee performance corrosion.
Compensation confusion may arise. If a janitor and an employee both get paid the same,
then how much is to be expected, and who allots the compensation (if there is no sole
authority figure in a holacracy?).
Confusion in the execution of tasks in the absence of an authority figure may give way to
chaos in the workplace. At the end of the day, individuals need someone to lead them, no
matter how much independence is granted to employees, they still need guidance (from
someone who knows how to get things done- an authority figure).
WOULD I WORK IN A HOLACRATIC ORGANIZATION? YES OR NO?
No, I would not like to work in a holacratic organization. Mainly because of my lack of
interest in working in an organization, I’m more of a hands-on entrepreneur type of
person. Also, the fact that I perform well under pressure (no manager, no pressure in a
holacracy). I hesitate to take initiatives in the presence of others (when I’m in a crowd
setting, I become a people pleaser). Hence, why I would not work in a holacratic
organization.
