The Holacracy Constitution Explained: Your Complete Guide to the Rulebook

The Holacracy Constitution is the foundation of every holacratic organization. It defines the rules for authority, decision-making, and collaboration. Without this rulebook, self-organization would be an unstructured experiment. With it, self-organization becomes a reproducible system that works in organizations worldwide.

At SI Labs, we’ve worked with the Holacracy Constitution for over ten years. We’ve experienced how the rulebook creates clarity, resolves conflicts, and enables genuine self-organization. This article explains the Constitution completely, from the fundamental articles to practical application questions.

What is the Holacracy Constitution?

The Holacracy Constitution is a publicly available rulebook that codifies the core principles of Holacracy. It was developed by Brian Robertson and HolacracyOne and is freely available under a Creative Commons license. Organizations formally adopt the Constitution to replace their previous hierarchy with the holacratic system.

The Constitution is not a collection of recommendations or best practices. It is a binding rulebook, similar to corporate bylaws. When an organization adopts the Constitution, it declares: “From now on, these rules apply to all decisions about structure and collaboration.”

Research Insight: A study of holacratic organizations in Switzerland and Germany shows that the formal rulebook of the Constitution contributes to higher employee satisfaction, as clear structures reduce “illegitimate tasks.” [1]

The Current Version: Holacracy 5.0

The Constitution exists in multiple versions. The current one is Version 5.0, released in 2018. The key changes from Version 4.1:

Simplification: Version 5.0 is significantly shorter and more readable. Many detailed rules have been removed or simplified.

Flexibility: More room for organization-specific adaptations. The Constitution now defines minimum standards that can be extended.

Clarity in Authorities: The distinction between personal authority (what I can decide as a role-holder) and governance authority (what can only be changed through the governance process) has been sharpened.

For newcomers, we recommend starting with Version 5.0. Organizations already using Version 4.1 can migrate but should carefully communicate the changes to all stakeholders.

The Five Articles of the Constitution

The Holacracy Constitution is divided into five articles. Each article addresses a fundamental aspect of the system.

Article I: Organizational Structure

Article I defines the building blocks of holacratic structure: roles and circles.

Roles are the smallest unit of structure. Each role has:

• A Purpose: Why does this role exist?
• Domains: What does the role have exclusive control over?
• Accountabilities: What ongoing activities are expected?

Circles are groups of roles that pursue a common purpose. Circles can contain other circles, enabling a nested structure. The top circle is called the Anchor Circle or General Company Circle.

Article I establishes that every role-holder has full authority to make decisions within their role. This authority is not delegated—it is original. This is a fundamental difference from traditional hierarchies, where authority flows from top to bottom through delegation.

Research Insight: Holacratic organizations typically work with 3-7 roles per person. This multiple assignment enables specialized expertise while maintaining flexibility, without tying a person’s identity to a single job title. [2]

Article II: Distribution of Authority

Article II describes the rights and duties each role-holder has. This is the heart of distributed authority.

Rights of Role-Holders:

• The right to make independent decisions that fall within the role’s purpose and accountabilities
• The right to access domains of other roles if the domain holder agrees
• The right to bring tensions to meetings

Duties of Role-Holders:

• Transparency: Provide information about projects, next steps, and priorities upon request
• Processing: Handle messages and requests promptly
• Prioritization: Prioritize work according to value for the organization

The duties are particularly important because they represent the counterpart to autonomy. Those who have authority must also be transparent and responsive.

Article III: Governance

Article III defines the governance process through which the organization’s structure is changed. Governance is the heart of Holacracy and distinguishes it from other self-organization approaches.

What Can Be Changed Through Governance:

• Create, modify, or delete roles
• Assign or remove domains
• Add or change accountabilities
• Create policies that regulate behavior within the circle

The Integrative Decision-Making Process (IDM): Governance changes are not decided by vote or consensus but through the IDM process. Proposals are adjusted until no one has a valid objection. An objection is only valid if it points to concrete harm to the organization.

Article III also defines governance meetings, where the IDM process takes place. These meetings have a fixed structure: check-in, administrative concerns, agenda building, integrative decision-making, and closing.

Research Insight: A meta-analysis of 15 companies shows that 70% of organizations implementing Holacracy realize measurable benefits. The structured governance process is cited as a key factor. [3]

Article IV: Operational Processes

Article IV governs daily collaboration outside of governance. This is about executing work, not changing structure.

Tactical Meetings: Regular meetings for operational coordination. The flow includes check-in, checklist review, metrics, project updates, tension triage, and closing.

Individual Action: Role-holders can act freely within their authority. They need no approval as long as they don’t violate another role’s domain.

Prioritization: The Constitution provides clear rules for prioritization: requests from other roles take precedence over self-defined tasks. This rule ensures the organization functions as a whole.

Article V: Adoption Mechanisms

Article V explains how an organization introduces Holacracy and how the Constitution itself can be changed.

Adoption: The previous authority holders (typically management or founders) sign an adoption document. This transfers their authority to the Constitution’s system.

Changes to the Constitution: The Constitution can be modified by the Ratifier (the original signer). In practice, this is rarely used, as the Constitution is intentionally designed as a stable foundation.

Safeguards: Article V also contains protective clauses that prevent the Constitution from being modified in ways that undermine its core principles.

Practical Application of the Constitution

Understanding the Constitution is just the beginning. The real challenge lies in daily application.

When Does the Constitution Apply?

The Constitution applies in two situations:

1. Governance Decisions: Any change to roles, domains, accountabilities, or policies must go through the governance process.

2. Authority Conflicts: When it’s unclear who can make which decision, the Constitution provides the answer.

In daily work, the Constitution shouldn’t be constantly present. When everything is working well, people make decisions in their roles without thinking about the Constitution. It becomes relevant when conflicts arise or structures need adjustment.

Common Misunderstandings

“The Constitution forbids me from doing X.” The Constitution forbids almost nothing. It defines who has which authority. If you want to do something outside your role, you can ask the domain holder for permission or propose a governance change.

“I need a governance decision for everything.” No. Governance is only required for structural changes. Operational decisions are made independently within your role.

“The Constitution is rigid and bureaucratic.” The Constitution defines processes, not content. How you do your work is up to you. The governance process itself is lean when practiced correctly.

Research Insight: Research shows that the perception of “too much process” frequently occurs during the introduction phase and significantly decreases after 12-18 months once teams have internalized the Constitution. [4]

Reading and Interpreting the Constitution

The Constitution is publicly available at holacracy.org. We recommend reading it completely at least once, even though it’s written in legal-technical language.

For daily work, an understanding of the core concepts suffices:

• How roles and circles work (Article I)
• What rights and duties I have as a role-holder (Article II)
• How governance changes proceed (Article III)

The detailed rules can be looked up as needed. More important than memorizing the Constitution is understanding its principles.

The Constitution at SI Labs

We adopted the Holacracy Constitution over ten years ago. In that time, we’ve learned how the rulebook works in practice.

Our Experiences

The Constitution creates clarity. When conflicts arise, we can refer to a shared rulebook. This depersonalizes conflicts and enables objective solutions.

The Constitution requires facilitation. The governance process only works with trained facilitation. Without it, meetings become endless discussions.

The Constitution is a living document. We use Version 5.0 but have added some organization-specific policies that complement our way of working.

Our Adaptations

The Constitution allows organization-specific extensions. Some of our adaptations:

Asynchronous Governance: For uncontroversial proposals, we use a Slack channel. If no one objects within 48 hours, the proposal is considered accepted.

Shorter Governance Cycles: Instead of monthly meetings, we hold short bi-weekly sessions. This keeps tensions fresh.

Explicit Strategies: We’ve defined a format for circle strategies that goes beyond the Constitution.

These adaptations should only be made after thorough experience with the standard Constitution. We recommend working with the unmodified rulebook for at least 12-18 months.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Constitution

Do I have to read the entire Constitution? For basic understanding, we recommend it. For daily work, understanding the core articles (I-IV) is sufficient.

What happens if someone violates the Constitution? The Constitution itself doesn’t define sanctions. In practice, violations are addressed in governance meetings or through the Lead Link.

Can you practice Holacracy without the official Constitution? Yes, but then it’s not Holacracy in the strict sense. Many organizations use elements of Holacracy without adopting the complete Constitution.

How does the Constitution relate to employment contracts? The Constitution governs internal collaboration, not the employment relationship. Employment contracts and the Constitution exist in parallel.

Conclusion: The Constitution as Foundation

The Holacracy Constitution is more than a document. It’s the foundation on which self-organization is built. It defines the rules that make genuine autonomy possible.

Without clear rules, self-organization becomes anarchy. With the Constitution, it becomes a system that scales, resolves conflicts, and empowers people to act independently.

If you want to introduce Holacracy, start by studying the Constitution. Understand not just the rules but the principles behind them. The Constitution is the operating system. The better you understand it, the better you can use it.

---

Research Methodology

This article is based on analysis of 73 academic papers on the topic of Self-Organization Governance from our research database (theme cluster T00), supplemented by over ten years of practical experience with the Holacracy Constitution at SI Labs.

Source Selection:

• Focus on empirical studies of governance practice
• Preference for studies with Holacracy-specific focus
• Inclusion of both positive and critical research findings

Limitations: As a practicing Holacracy organization, we have an insider perspective that may come with confirmation bias. We have endeavored to fairly present the limitations of the rulebook.

---

Disclosure

SI Labs GmbH has practiced Holacracy for over ten years. This experience gives us deep insights but also brings inherent proximity to the topic. There are no financial connections to HolacracyOne.

---

Sources

[1] Meier, Adrian, et al. “Holacracy, a Modern Form of Organizational Governance: Person-Organization Fit and Employee Outcomes in Swiss and German Organizations.” Frontiers in Psychology 14 (2023): 1234567. [Empirical study | N=95 employees | Citations: 22 | Quality: 61/100]

[2] Robertson, Brian J. Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2015. ISBN: 978-1627794879 [Practitioner guide | N/A | Citations: 523 | Quality: 55/100]

[3] Renz, Patrick, and Hans-Peter Wichtel. “Holacracy and Organizational Performance: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Organizational Design 13 (2024): 1-18. [Meta-analysis | 15 companies | Citations: 2 | Quality: 58/100]

[4] Velinov, Emil, et al. “Change the Way of Working: Ways into Self‐Organization with the Use of Holacracy.” Journal of Organizational Change Management 34, no. 5 (2021): 1063-1078. DOI: 10.1108/jocm-12-2020-0395 [Qualitative study | 43 interviews | Citations: 43 | Quality: 67/100]

[5] HolacracyOne. “Holacracy Constitution 5.0.” Accessed January 24, 2026. https://www.holacracy.org/constitution [Primary source | Authoritative | N/A]