Safe enough to try
Radically empowered teams at CliniClowns Netherlands
Less managing, more impact:
Yolande, legacy fundraiser at CliniClowns Netherlands, recently shared her experience of working within a “holacratic” organisation, adopting radically decentralised ways of working.
Holacracy intentionally removes hierarchy amongst people – but it doesn’t leave chaos in its wake. Instead it creates a system where everything is ordered around the organisation’s purpose and everyone has clarity on how they can, and should, be contributing to that goal.
As Yolande said “I enjoy the freedom it gives me to excel at my job. In holacracy, purpose is king. That means everything we do is goal oriented.”
CliniClowns Netherlands brought in this new way of working to become more centralised and to be more flexible to respond to the changing needs in their line of work.
Whilst the kind of wholesale change that CliniClowns have adopted, through holacracy, may not have buy-in in your organisation, there is still a lot that you might take from the principles that Yolande discussed:
Focus on purpose
As we’ve already touched on, everything at CliniClowns Netherlands revolves around the organisation’s purpose. This overall purpose informs the priorities for each team (or “circle” as they are called in holacracy), it informs decision-making, it even informs what the organisation are going to stop, as much as what they are going to start. Yolande reported “When we moved to holacracy, there were things that we stopped doing. Because, when we asked ourselves, ‘why are we doing this?’ There wasn’t a good answer.”
This kind of relentless focus on purpose is only possible when there is organisational discipline and everyone can hold themselves accountable. Rather than deferring to a more senior colleague to guide decision making, everyone defers to the outcome focused goals they are working towards. The holacracy system includes ways of working and meeting structures which bake these practices into the culture.
Transparency avoids ambiguity
In holacracy, everything is documented. Roles and responsibilities are really clearly defined and whilst people do have opportunities to input on others’ initiatives, they can’t block things from happening which are outside their scope. Yolande said “It’s all written down, so it’s very clear who can have an opinion about certain projects, and who can make decisions.” This dramatically reduces sign-off processes and increases everyone’s ability to get new ideas off the ground.
CliniClowns use a digital tool called HolaSpirit to capture all of the detail about people’s roles. Their organogram isn’t just a 2D representation of the structure, but an explorable, visual directory which shows who is in each circle, how they interconnect with other circles and what their personal remit incorporates. When teams meet their notes get stored in the circle’s records. It’s possible to subscribe to updates from other circle’s meetings, so people can easily stay up-to-date with what others are doing, without having to be in meetings that aren’t fully relevant to them.
Structure helps things get done
Very little is left to chance in holacracy – ways of working are carefully designed for maximum impact – and meetings are no exception. Yolande said ”Meetings are my favourite thing about this way of working, because you actually feel like you get a lot done.” We’re sure there aren’t many organisations where staff would say that meetings are their favourite thing!
Every circle has a facilitator who takes the group through the meeting, as well as a secretary who documents meetings and a “route finder” who is responsible for the purpose of the circle by looking after governance, helping the circle navigate its priorities and solve issues that cannot be solved within the purpose of the circle. Each meeting follows a trusted pattern, designed to unblock as much work as possible:
- Check-in – this sets the tone and create connection within the circle.
- Check-list – everyone answering these yes/no questions – such as “Is there a project you’re working on that needs support?” or “do you want to celebrate any successes?” – helps build a picture of how the team are doing and triggers content for the agenda.
- Indicators – everyone scores themselves against agreed KPIs, to check in on progress.
- Agenda items – called “tensions” – that everyone can add during the meeting. Tensions can be positive or negative, but are anything where a member of the circle senses that something needs a resolution. They articulate a gap between the current situation and where you want to be, so they can be opportunities as well as challenges.
- The team prioritise the order to work through the proposed tensions and aim to resolve as many as possible in the meeting. There are different types of tension that can be brought to the agenda:
- Share information you think is relevant to others.
- Ask someone else for action i.e. to complete a task you’re dependent on in your own work.
- Ask for information or support from someone else.
- A proposal.
- Check out – everyone has the opportunity to reflect on the meeting, share something relevant or resolve an interpersonal issue.
Consent not consensus
The way that proposals for new ideas are dealt with in a holocratic meeting typifies what is distinctive about this way of working. People can only propose things that are directly related to their role and, whilst they garner input from the rest of the circle, it is ultimately their decision whether or not to take the proposal forward. Each proposal is worked through using the “ping-pong” method:
- The proposer describes their proposal.
- Everyone has the chance to ask questions – this is not the time to put your opinion forward, but to get clarity on what has been shared.
- Response – at this stage, everyone can then offer feedback on what’s been proposed.
- The facilitator then asks if the proposer wants to adjust their proposal, based on what they’ve heard. They have the choice to say no, to say there and then how they’ll adjust it, or to say they’ll come back with a revised proposal at a future meeting.
- If the proposer is going to take the proposal forward in some shape, the facilitator then asks “is it safe enough to try?”
This last question is almost magical, because it sets the threshold an idea has to pass very differently from more traditional ways of working. Asking “is it safe enough to try?” avoids ideas only seeing the light of day when they are deemed to be perfect and it also avoids those in unrelated roles being able to hold back an idea based on their personal likes and dislikes. Whilst serious objections can be raised, particularly if the idea isn’t clearly linked to the organisation’s purpose, if the group gives its consent, then the proposer has the autonomy to test out their idea.
So, how are you going to give some holacracy-inspired ways of working a try? Is there one of the areas we’ve explored (purpose, transparency, meetings or decision-making) where you think you have most room for improvement? Here are some questions to help you explore:
- The next time someone asks for your buy-in on an idea, can you ask “is it safe to try?”, instead of needing all the detail?
- Where might you be able to ask for consent, rather than needing to build consensus? (e.g. to try a new idea, to make a change).
- What can you stop doing, because it isn’t directly impacting your purpose?
- How can you be more transparent and show your team’s workings with a wider group?
If you’d like to take your facilitation skills to the next level, our Facilitation Skills for Change Makers programme might be just what you need. Or, if you’d like support on some bigger changes, please get in touch about how we can support you with training, coaching and strategic support.
