Meeting Roles in Holacracy: Facilitator and Secretary

Two roles, one meeting. Every Holacracy meeting is carried by two roles: the Facilitator and the Secretary. Their collaboration determines whether a meeting runs productively or chaotically.

At SI Labs, we’ve learned: Good meeting roles make 80% of meeting success. Poor facilitation leads to long, frustrating meetings – regardless of content.

The Two Meeting Roles at a Glance

Aspect	Facilitator	Secretary
Focus	Process	Documentation
Core question	”How is the meeting running?"	"What was decided?”
During meeting	Leads, interrupts, protects	Notes, reads aloud, updates
After meeting	Done	Publishes outputs

The Facilitator

Core Responsibility

The Facilitator protects the meeting process. Not the content – only the process.

What this means:

• Enforce the defined flow
• Interrupt discussions when they drift
• Include all voices
• Keep track of time
• Protect the agenda owner

Research Insight: Studies on meeting effectiveness show that a dedicated Facilitator increases productivity by 34%. The biggest effect comes from consistently interrupting off-topic discussions. [1]

In the Tactical Meeting

Lead check-in:

• Open and close the round
• Prevent comments
• Maintain pace

Checklists and metrics:

• Secretary reads aloud, Facilitator maintains focus
• No discussions, just status

Project updates:

• Enforce one-sentence updates
• Move detailed questions to triage

Lead triage:

• Ask “What do you need?”
• Help identify output
• Stop discussions
• Recognize and redirect governance

Lead check-out:

• Enable brief reflections
• Close the meeting

In the Governance Meeting

The Facilitator in the Governance Meeting has additional tasks:

Lead IDM process:

• Have proposal presented
• Moderate clarifying questions
• Lead reaction round
• Integrate objections

Test validity:

• Distinguish real objections from concerns
• Ask test questions
• Facilitate integration

What the Facilitator Does NOT Do

Not contribute content: The Facilitator has no opinion on the topic – at least not during facilitation.

Not make decisions: The group decides. The Facilitator guides through the process.

Not prioritize topics: The agenda is processed in the order it was created.

Not suggest solutions: “Have you tried X?” is not facilitation – it’s interference.

Facilitator Interventions

The Facilitator’s most important phrases:

Situation	Intervention
Discussion emerges	”We’re in a discussion. What do you specifically need?”
Too many details	”Thanks, what’s the next step?”
Governance in Tactical	”That sounds structural. Do you want to note it for Governance?”
Someone takes over	”This is [Name]‘s tension. Let them decide.”
Time running out	”We have 2 minutes left. Can we find an output?”
No clear outputs	”That’s not an output. Who does what next?”

Facilitator Qualities

Process-obsessed, content-agnostic: The Facilitator cares about HOW, not WHAT.

Friendly but firm: Interrupting is necessary – but never rude.

Neutral: No favorites, no judgments.

Attentive: Recognizes early when things go off track.

The Secretary

Core Responsibility

The Secretary captures meeting outputs. Not the conversation – only the outputs.

What this means:

• Note projects and actions
• Document governance changes
• Maintain checklists and metrics
• Keep records current

In the Tactical Meeting

Read checklists and metrics:

• Read each item aloud
• Note status (Check/No Check)

Build agenda:

• Collect tension placeholders
• Maintain list

Capture outputs:

• Add projects
• Document actions
• Record requests

In the Governance Meeting

Document proposals:

• Capture proposed changes
• Update integrations
• Document final version

Update records:

• Create new roles
• Change accountabilities
• Add policies

What the Secretary Does NOT Do

Not keep minutes: No “meeting minutes” in the traditional sense. Only outputs.

Not summarize discussions: What was discussed is irrelevant. Only the result counts.

Not interpret: Note literally what was decided.

Secretary Tools

Tool	Purpose
GlassFrog/Holaspirit	Governance records, projects
Asana/Notion	Projects, actions
Shared doc	Live documentation

The Collaboration

Facilitator and Secretary work together:

Before the Meeting

Secretary:

• Prepare checklists and metrics
• Keep project list current

Facilitator:

• Have flow in mind
• Anticipate potentially difficult topics

During the Meeting

Handoffs:

• Secretary reads aloud (checklists, metrics, projects)
• Facilitator takes over for triage
• Secretary notes in background

Synchronization:

• Facilitator asks: “Did you get that?”
• Secretary confirms: “Noted.”

After the Meeting

Secretary:

• Publish outputs
• Update records

Facilitator:

• Done (no follow-up needed)

Role Rotation

At SI Labs, we rotate both roles:

Why Rotation?

1. Competence distribution: Everyone learns to facilitate
2. Fatigue prevention: The same person doesn’t always facilitate
3. Better meetings: Those who’ve facilitated are better participants

How We Rotate

Option 1: Fixed rotation

• List of team members
• Next person each week
• Automatic, no effort

Option 2: Volunteers

• Ask at the start: “Who’s facilitating today?”
• Flexible, but needs someone to volunteer

Option 3: Hybrid

• Fixed rotation as default
• Swapping allowed when needed

Training New Facilitators

1. Observe: 2-3 meetings just watching
2. Co-facilitation: Together with experienced Facilitator
3. Solo with backup: Alone, but someone can step in
4. Solo: Full responsibility

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Facilitator Has Opinions

Problem: The Facilitator gets involved in content.

Symptom: “I think we should…” during facilitation.

Solution: If the Facilitator wants to contribute content, they must make it explicit: “I’m briefly stepping out of the Facilitator role to speak as a participant.” Then resume.

Mistake 2: Secretary Summarizes

Problem: The Secretary writes what they understood – not what was said.

Symptom: “So, I noted that…” (with interpretation).

Solution: Note literally. When unclear, ask: “What exactly is the action?”

Mistake 3: Facilitator Too Passive

Problem: Discussions aren’t interrupted.

Symptom: Meeting takes 90 minutes instead of 45.

Solution: Practice interrupting. It feels rude but is necessary.

Mistake 4: No Clear Handoff

Problem: Unclear who’s leading.

Symptom: Facilitator and Secretary speak simultaneously.

Solution: Clear handoffs: “Secretary, please read the checklist.” → “Facilitator, back to you.”

Special Situations

The Facilitator as Participant

The Facilitator can have tensions like everyone else.

How to handle:

1. Bring own tension into agenda normally
2. When processing: Briefly “park” the Facilitator role
3. “I’m speaking now as a participant, not as Facilitator.”
4. Others can help watch the process
5. Then resume Facilitator role

Conflicts Between Facilitator and Participant

Sometimes a participant is dissatisfied with the facilitation.

How to handle:

• Don’t discuss during meeting
• Give feedback after meeting
• For real process violations: Objection in Governance
• The Facilitator role itself is defined in Governance

Virtual Meetings

In remote meetings:

For the Facilitator:

• Set clear speaking order
• Enforce muting
• More verbal steering needed (no body language)

For the Secretary:

• Screen-share for live documentation
• Confirm that output is captured

Conclusion: Roles Make Meetings

Meeting roles in Holacracy are not optional. They are the structure that enables productive meetings.

Facilitator: Protects the process, interrupts discussions, finds outputs.

Secretary: Documents results, not discussions.

Together they create the conditions under which teams can quickly move from tensions to outputs.

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Research Methodology

This article is based on research on meeting facilitation and documentation, supplemented by practical experience with meeting roles at SI Labs.

Source selection:

• Studies on meeting effectiveness and facilitation
• Holacracy literature on constitutional roles
• Practitioner reports

Limitations:

• Little isolated research on these specific roles
• Many insights from our practice

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Disclosure

SI Labs GmbH has practiced Holacracy for over ten years. We rotate meeting roles and have developed the described practices.

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Sources

[1] Allen, Joseph A., Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, and Steven G. Rogelberg. “The Cambridge Handbook of Meeting Science.” Cambridge University Press, 2015. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781107589735 [Handbook | Meta-Analysis | Citations: 248 | Quality: 85/100]

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

[3] HolacracyOne. “Holacracy Constitution v5.0.” https://www.holacracy.org/constitution [Primary Source | Constitution | Quality: 60/100]