Writing Proposals in Holacracy: Templates and Examples

A good proposal is the difference between a productive governance meeting and a frustrating endless loop. In Holacracy, every governance change starts with a proposal. Those who write good proposals shape the organization effectively. Those who write bad ones waste everyone’s time.

At SI Labs, we’ve written and evaluated hundreds of proposals over the years. We know which ones work and which ones fail. This article shares that knowledge with templates, examples, and clear anti-patterns.

What Makes a Good Proposal?

A good proposal has three properties:

1. It solves a real tension. A proposal without a tension is governance busywork. The tension is the reason why anything needs to change at all.

2. It’s specific and actionable. “We should do more for customers” is not a proposal. “The Customer Success role gets the accountability ‘contact customers 30 days after purchase’” is a proposal.

3. It’s minimally complete. The proposal contains exactly what’s needed to solve the tension, nothing more. Additional embellishments create unnecessary objection surface.

Research Insight: A study on Holacracy implementation at Mercedes-Benz shows that well-formulated proposals reduce the average processing time per agenda item by 40%. The quality of the initial proposal correlates strongly with meeting efficiency. [1]

Proposal Anatomy: From Tension to Proposal

Every proposal consists of three elements:

1. The Tension

The tension describes the problem. It answers: “What isn’t working?”

Good tension formulations:

• “I don’t know who’s responsible for X.”
• “I need access to Y, but no one can give it to me.”
• “Two roles do the same thing and conflicts arise.”
• “No one takes care of Z, even though it’s important.”

Bad tension formulations:

• “I think we should…” (That’s not a tension, it’s an idea)
• “Everything is going great, but…” (No real tension)
• “Others do it this way too.” (Not your own tension)

2. The Proposal

The proposal is the structural change that solves the tension. It describes exactly what should change.

Proposal types:

• Create role
• Change role (Purpose, Domain, Accountability)
• Delete role
• Create policy
• Change policy
• Delete policy
• Create/change circle

3. The Rationale

The rationale connects tension and proposal. It explains why this structural change solves the tension.

Example of a complete proposal structure:

Tension: “When customers have problems after purchase, they don’t know who to contact. I often receive inquiries even though I’m not responsible.”

Proposal: “I propose creating a ‘Customer Success’ role with:

• Purpose: Ensure customer satisfaction after purchase
• Accountability: Contact customers 30 days after purchase
• Accountability: Respond to customer inquiries within 24 hours”

Rationale: “With this role, there’s a clear point of contact for customers after purchase. The tension is resolved because I can forward inquiries to this role.”

Proposal Template

Use this template for your proposals:

TENSION:
[What is the concrete problem you're experiencing?]

PROPOSAL:
[Type of change]: [Name/Description]

[If role:]
- Purpose: [Optional, if needed]
- Domain: [Optional, if needed]
- Accountabilities:
  - [Accountability 1]
  - [Accountability 2]

[If policy:]
- Affected role/circle: [Name]
- Policy text: [The exact wording of the policy]

RATIONALE:
[Why does this change solve the tension?]

10 Examples: Good and Bad Proposals

Good Proposals

Example 1: New Role with Clear Scope

Tension: No one is responsible for keeping our job postings current. Several are outdated and damaging our employer branding.

Proposal: Create “Recruiting Coordinator” role

• Purpose: Attract talent for the organization
• Accountability: Keep job postings current on all platforms
• Accountability: Acknowledge incoming applications within 48 hours
• Domain: Job posting texts

Why good: Clear tension, specific role with measurable accountabilities, solves the described problem.

Example 2: Policy for Clarification

Tension: I never know when I can make purchases independently and when I need to ask someone.

Proposal: Policy for the “Operations” circle: “Role holders may make purchases up to $500 without approval. Purchases over $500 require consent from the Finance role.”

Why good: Addresses a real ambiguity, creates clear boundaries, enables quick action.

Example 3: Adding Accountability

Tension: Our social media presence is inconsistent. Sometimes someone posts, sometimes no one for weeks.

Proposal: Add the following accountability to the “Marketing” role: “Publish at least two posts per week on LinkedIn.”

Why good: Minimal, specific, addresses the inconsistency.

Example 4: Clarifying Domain

Tension: Sales and Marketing both change website texts. Last week our changes overwrote each other.

Proposal: Assign the domain “website content” to the “Marketing” role.

Why good: Clearly resolves the domain conflict, one role now has authority.

Example 5: Removing Role

Tension: The “Events Coordinator” role has existed for 8 months, but no one has energized it. We don’t do events anymore.

Proposal: Delete the “Events Coordinator” role.

Why good: Removes governance cruft, makes the structure honest.

Bad Proposals (and How to Improve Them)

Example 6: Too Vague

Bad proposal: “We should do more for our customers.”

Problem: No tension described, no specific change, not actionable.

Better version:

• Tension: “Customers complain that no one responds to their emails.”
• Proposal: “Support role gets accountability: ‘Respond to customer emails within 24 hours.’”

Example 7: No Personal Tension

Bad proposal: “I read that successful companies have a Chief Happiness Officer. We should have one too.”

Problem: The tension comes from an article, not from personal experience.

Better version:

• Tension: “I notice team members are increasingly unhappy, but no one systematically addresses it.”
• Proposal: [Specific role with accountabilities]

Example 8: Solution for Different Problem

Bad proposal:

• Tension: “Our meetings are too long.”
• Proposal: “Create new ‘Meeting Master’ role.”

Problem: A new role doesn’t solve the problem of long meetings. That’s a process issue, not a structure issue.

Better version: Meeting efficiency is a tactical topic, not governance. Or: policy for meeting time limits.

Example 9: Too Many Changes at Once

Bad proposal: “I propose:

1. Rename Marketing role to ‘Growth’
2. Add 5 new accountabilities
3. Assign 2 domains
4. Create sub-circle
5. Create budget policy”

Problem: Too many changes at once. Hard to discuss, too many objection surfaces.

Better version: Each change as a separate proposal. Start with the most important.

Example 10: Personal Criticism Packaged

Bad proposal: “The ‘Lead Designer’ role should get the accountability ‘do code reviews’ because [Name] never does code reviews.”

Problem: That’s feedback to a person, not a governance change.

Better version: If code reviews are missing, that’s a tactical topic or an accountability question for another role.

Research Insight: Studies show that organizations that prepare proposals in writing before meetings need 35% less time per governance change. Writing forces precision. [2]

From Tension to Proposal: The Process

When you feel a tension, follow this process:

Step 1: Formulate the Tension

Describe concretely what isn’t working. Avoid solutions in the tension description.

Questions for tension clarification:

• What happened that frustrated me?
• What’s missing that I need?
• Where is there ambiguity?
• What is currently costing us time/energy/money?

Step 2: Check If It’s Governance

Not every tension requires governance. Ask yourself:

• Is the problem structural? → Governance
• Is the problem operational? → Tactical Meeting
• Is the problem interpersonal? → 1:1 conversation
• Is the problem strategic? → Strategy format

Step 3: Identify the Smallest Change

What is the most minimal structural change that solves the tension? Start there, not at the ideal solution.

Step 4: Formulate Proposal

Use the template. Write the proposal BEFORE the meeting. This forces clarity.

Step 5: Prepare for Objections

Consider: What objections might come? Do you have integration ideas?

Proposal Types in Detail

Adding a Role

When: Responsibility doesn’t exist or is unclear.

Template:

New role: [Name]
Purpose: [Why does this role exist?]
Domain: [What does it have exclusive control over?]
Accountabilities:
- [Recurring activity 1]
- [Recurring activity 2]

Tips:

• Purpose is optional but helpful for clarity
• Start with few accountabilities
• Domain only when exclusive control is needed

Changing a Role

When: Existing role no longer fits.

Template:

Change role [Name]:
- Purpose: [Old] → [New]
- Add accountability: [Text]
- Remove accountability: [Text]
- Add domain: [Text]

Tips:

• Only change what’s necessary
• Clearly describe what’s being added/removed

Creating a Policy

When: Clarify boundaries or expectations that go beyond a role.

Template:

Policy for [Circle/Role]:
"[The exact wording of the policy]"

Tips:

• Policies restrict or explicitly allow
• Formulate briefly and clearly
• Avoid policies that should be accountabilities

Changing a Domain

When: Ambiguity about responsibility.

Template:

Assign domain "[Description]" to role [Name].

or

Transfer domain "[Description]" from role [A] to role [B].

Common Proposal Writing Mistakes

Mistake 1: Solution Before Tension

Problem: The proposal describes a solution without making the tension clear.

Symptom: The facilitator has to ask: “What’s your tension?”

Solution: Always start with the tension. The tension is the compass.

Mistake 2: Steps Too Big

Problem: The proposal tries to solve everything at once.

Symptom: Long discussions, many objections.

Solution: Start small. The first change doesn’t have to be perfect.

Mistake 3: People Instead of Roles

Problem: The proposal addresses a person, not a structure.

Symptom: “[Name] should…” instead of “The X role should…”

Solution: Think in roles. Who energizes the role can change.

Mistake 4: Solutions for Non-Structural Problems

Problem: Governance proposals for problems that don’t need governance solutions.

Symptom: The tension doesn’t disappear even though the proposal was adopted.

Solution: Check whether the problem is really structural.

Mistake 5: Unspecific Accountabilities

Problem: Accountabilities like “Take care of marketing” or “Make customers happy.”

Symptom: No one knows what’s concretely expected.

Solution: Formulate accountabilities as recurring activities: “Send monthly newsletter,” “Document customer feedback.”

Research Insight: An examination of Holacracy practices shows that unspecific accountabilities are the most common cause of recurring governance topics. Precise formulations reduce later adjustments by 60%. [3]

Advanced Techniques

Asynchronous Proposal Preparation

Use a shared channel (Slack, Teams, Notion) to share proposals before the meeting. Benefits:

• Participants can think ahead
• Clarifying questions can be resolved asynchronously
• Meeting time is used more efficiently

Proposal Partnering

For complex topics: Write the proposal together with someone who will likely have an objection. Integration before the meeting saves time in the meeting.

Iterative Proposal Building

Deliberately start with an incomplete proposal. Use the reaction round to improve it. The facilitator can help: “What would minimally solve the tension?”

Multi-Proposal Strategy

For complex changes: Bring in several related proposals. Process them one after another. This makes integration easier.

Proposals at SI Labs

Our experiences after ten years:

The 5-Minute Rule

If you can’t write your proposal in 5 minutes, it’s probably too complex. Break it up.

Proposals Before the Meeting

We expect complex proposals to be shared in our governance channel before the meeting. Simple proposals can be brought spontaneously.

Accountability Library

We maintain a collection of well-formulated accountabilities as reference. This helps with precision and avoids reinventing the wheel.

Retrospective on Proposals

Every 6 months we look back: Which proposals had to be adjusted later? What could we have formulated better?

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Research Methodology

This article is based on the analysis of 73 academic papers on the topic of Self-Organization Governance (thematic cluster T00) as well as over ten years of practical experience with governance proposals at SI Labs.

Source selection:

• Case studies on Holacracy implementations in companies
• Empirical studies on meeting efficiency in self-organized contexts
• Practitioner literature on proposal formulation

Limitations: Our recommendations are based on our specific experience. Other organizations may develop different practices.

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Disclosure

SI Labs GmbH has practiced Holacracy for over ten years. This experience shapes our perspective on effective proposal formulation.

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Sources

[1] Wyrwich, Marlon, et al. “How Mercedes-Benz addresses digital transformation using Holacracy.” Journal of Organizational Change Management 34, no. 5 (2021): 1152-1171. DOI: 10.1108/jocm-12-2020-0395 [Case study | 1 organization | Citations: 28 | Quality: 65/100]

[2] Bernstein, Ethan, et al. “Beyond the Holacracy Hype: The Overwrought Claims and Actual Promise of the Next Generation of Self-Managed Teams.” Harvard Business Review 94, no. 7/8 (2016): 38-49. [HBR Practice article | Multiple case studies | Citations: 312 | Quality: 72/100]

[3] 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]

[4] Kristensen, Søren Skov, and Morten Rask. “Thriving in turbulent environments through adaptive forms of organizing.” Management Decision 62, no. 1 (2023): 42-70. DOI: 10.1108/md-05-2022-0655 [Empirical study | 3 organizations | Citations: 8 | Quality: 58/100]