Specific Roles
Cross-Link Role
The Cross-Link is essentially a Rep Link that can come from any other circle, not necessarily a sub-circle like the Rep Link. The Cross-Link can even come from outside of the company entirely.
One use of this is circles can decide to have, for example, a representative of the student body, or of the coaches, sit in on their meetings as a member.
Another use is that two circles that are not linked naturally as circle and sub-circle can choose to link this way. e.g. Marketing decides to invite a Cross-Link from Admissions in order to represent the tensions of the Admissions team.
The Cross-Link, like the Rep Link, becomes a full-fledged member of the circle. Participates fully in meetings and elections.
The Cross-Link is created via a "pull". The Target circle, the one that wants the Cross-Link in it, feels the tension that many of their decisions would be more beneficial and better informed if they had someone representing the Linked circle involved.
They then create a Cross-Link Policy, create a role with accountabilities, and the Linked Circle in turn will create a mirroring role and the Lead Link will assign someone to it.
For example Marketing feels like having a representative from Admissions will help them make better decisions and will shorten the feedback loop of Admissions responding to their decisions through GCC. They create the following Policy: A Cross Link has been authorized from @Admissions shall be invited to cross link into @Marketing in accordance with article 2.7
They also create the following role in the Marketing circle: Role Name: Cross Link from @Admissions
Purpose: Tensions relevant to process in Marketing channeled over and resolved
Accountabilities:
Representing @Admissions at @Marketing
Seeking to understand Tensions conveyed by any of the @Admissions' Circle Members, and discerning those appropriate to channel into @Marketing for processing
In turn Admissions circle will create a mirrored role and the Lead Link will ask someone to energize it.
Couple of points about the Cross-Link:
Each circle can add extra accountabilities on the Cross-Link but these accountabilities are not automatically channeled into the other circle. The Cross-Link will hold the tension of fulfilling accountabilities in both circles.
The Cross-Link goes one way, like the Rep Link. If two circle want Cross-Links to go both ways two roles and two separate policies need to be created. The same person can fill them but the roles are separate.
Secretary Role
Here are some of the Secretary's main accountabilities:
Scheduling circle meetings, and also making the final call on frequency, location, etc.
Taking notes and logging actions or proposals into Glassfrog during meetings.
Acting as a reference guide when there's a question about the organization (roles, accountabilities, domains, etc.) or about the constitution of Holacracy.
Facilitator Role
The facilitator ideally acts as an impartial umpire in tactical and governance meetings.
This role is crucial for the smooth operation of Holacracy and any person energizing it must be sure that they have been adequately trained in Holacratic facilitation.
Lead Link Role
There are no “managers” in Holacracy. Instead, the Lead Link carries some of those leadership functions, and yet it looks nothing like a conventional "boss".
Here are some of the Lead Link's main accountabilities:
The Lead Link holds all the Accountabilities and authorities defined on the Circle but not yet delegated to a Role within the Circle.
The Lead Link can define work priorities and ongoing “Strategies” for the Circle.
You can delegate functions from the Lead Link to other Roles via governance, but you can never add functions to the Lead Link.
The Lead Link acts as the circle's membrane, protecting it from outside interference (micro or cross managing) and appropriately directing requests and information to the most appropriate roles in their circle.
The Lead Link decides on which Metrics and Checklist items are going to be reported at tactical meetings.
Rep Link Role
The Rep link's primary accountability is to carry tensions up from the circle to its parent circle.
eg. If I, in Admissions, need to add an accountability to the Prep circle, I ask my Rep Link to take that tension to the GCC Governance meeting and add the accountability on the Prep circle there.
Governor Role
Purpose: This circle's structure evolved through governance in order to optimally express its purpose Domain: This circle’s governance Accountabilities:
Meeting with circle members in order to process their governance tensions
Acting as Secretary when enacting governance outside of a meeting
Creating and passing governance proposals for this circle
The Governor is a role we created specifically at LG in order to bypass distributed governance. It is the ratifier's judgement that distributed governance during the founding period of LG is not healthy, and the policy has a system for each circle eventually moving towards distributed governance.
But until then the role of Governor will pass and process all governance for their circle.
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