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Self-Organization

Holacracy Structure FAQ: 20 Common Questions Answered

The most important questions about roles, circles, links, and structure migration in Holacracy. Clear answers with practical examples.

Published on: January 26, 2026 by SI Labs

Holacracy structure raises many questions – especially at the beginning. This FAQ answers the 20 most common questions about roles, circles, links, and structure migration. Each answer is brief and practical.

Roles

1. What’s the difference between a role and a job?

A job describes a person: “Marketing Manager – 40h/week, salary X, reports to Y.”

A role describes work: “Newsletter – Purpose: Inform subscribers. Accountabilities: Create and send newsletter.”

The key difference: A person can have many roles. A role can be shared by multiple people. The person is not the role.

2. How many roles can one person have?

There’s no fixed limit. Practically: Most people can fill 3-6 roles well.

Factors:

Complexity of roles
Available time
Cognitive capacity

3. Can a role have multiple people?

Yes. When multiple people fill the same role, it’s called “Role Assignment to Multiple” or simply: shared role.

Important: Each person then has all accountabilities of the role. There’s no automatic division.

4. Who decides who has which role?

The Lead Link of the circle assigns roles. This isn’t a democratic decision and doesn’t need governance.

What Lead Link CANNOT do: Change the role itself. That requires governance.

5. Can I change my own role?

Not alone. Role changes go through governance. You can bring a proposal, but the whole circle processes it.

What you CAN decide yourself: How you fill the role. Authority lies in the role, execution with you.

Circles

6. When do you need a separate circle?

A separate circle makes sense when:

An area needs its own governance
Complexity exceeds a single role
Autonomy for the area is important

7. How big should a circle be?

Rule of thumb: 3-8 members for effective governance.

Too small (< 3): Hardly any perspective diversity
Too big (> 12): Governance meetings become long and inefficient

8. Can a circle be dissolved?

Yes. A circle is dissolved through governance of the super-circle.

Requirement: The circle’s work must go somewhere – into other roles or another circle.

9. What’s the difference between circle and team?

A team is a group of people. A circle is a governance unit with purpose, roles, and its own structural authority.

Teams exist informally. Circles are formal Holacracy structures.

10. Does every person have to belong to a circle?

Not automatically. You belong to the circles where you have roles.

Someone with roles in three circles “belongs” to three circles. Someone with only one role in the Anchor Circle belongs only there.

Links

11. What exactly does the Lead Link do?

The Lead Link:

Assigns roles
Allocates resources
Sets priorities
Carries purpose and strategy of super-circle into the circle

What they DON’T do: Direct how work is done.

12. What’s the difference between Lead Link and Rep Link?

Lead Link	Rep Link
Assigned by super-circle	Elected by sub-circle
Carries purpose downward	Carries tensions upward
Represents super-circle interests	Represents sub-circle interests

Together they form double-linking.

13. Who elects the Rep Link?

All members of the sub-circle (except Lead Link) elect the Rep Link. The election method is the integrative election process:

Nomination
Reasoning
Change round
Objection round
Decision

14. Does every circle need a Rep Link?

Every sub-circle automatically has a Rep Link role. Whether it’s filled depends on whether someone is elected.

In practice: Most circles elect a Rep Link early because it’s important for upward communication.

15. When do you need Cross Links?

Cross Links connect circles that aren’t in a hierarchical relationship but need to coordinate regularly.

Indicators:

Recurring dependency
Time-critical coordination
No clear superior/subordinate relationship

Migration

16. How do I start with Holacracy?

Typical path:

Pilot: One circle tries Holacracy
Learn: Gather experience, use coaching
Expand: Include more circles
Consolidate: Stabilize organization

17. Do departments become circles?

Not 1:1. Departments are organized around people, circles around work. Migration requires rethinking:

What work is actually being done?
How should it be grouped?
What governance does it need?

18. How long does a Holacracy introduction take?

Organization Size	Typical Timeframe
10-30 people	3-6 months
30-100 people	6-12 months
100+ people	12-24 months

Important: Holacracy is never “done.” Structure continuously evolves.

19. Can you go back from Holacracy to traditional structure?

Technically yes. Practically rare. Organizations that abandon Holacracy:

Usually have specific reasons (e.g., leadership change)
Often keep elements (role thinking, governance meetings)
Lose the benefits of distributed authority

20. What happens with structural problems?

Structural problems are solved through governance:

Identify tension
Develop proposal
Governance processes proposal
New structure applies

Research Methodology

This FAQ is based on the Holacracy Constitution, common questions from trainings and consulting, and over ten years of practice at SI Labs.

Source selection:

Holacracy Constitution
Common questions from practice
SI Labs internal documentation

Limitations: FAQ answers are deliberately brief. For details, see linked articles.

Disclosure

SI Labs GmbH has practiced Holacracy for over ten years and offers Holacracy training.

Sources

[1] Robertson, Brian J. “Holacracy.” In The Management Shift, edited by Vlatka Hlupic, 145-168. Chichester: Wiley, 2012. DOI: 10.1002/9781119197683.ch9 [Book Chapter | N/A | Citations: N/A | Quality: 60/100]

[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]

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