The Value of Distributing Power and Authority Throughout an Organization | Brian Robertson

“I want self-managed people, especially for Halocracy. It's a self-managing environment, that needs people that are capable of individual self-management to be part of a team that is self-managing.”

— Brian Robertson

On this week's episode, Sachit (@sachitgupta) sits down with Brian Robertson (@h1brian) to discuss a management framework designed to get things done using a system of agile, self-organizing networks.

Brian is an entrepreneur, organization-builder, recovering CEO, and the Pioneer of Holacracy - an exciting and revolutionary management philosophy that turns everyone into a leader. The philosophy distributes authority and decision-making throughout an organization, and defines people not by hierarchy and titles, but by roles.

Tune in to hear Brian explain how the Holacracy method can help you create structures and ways of making decisions that empower everyone in the organization. Make sure you have your notebooks ready because this one's a cracker!

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(00:00) - Introduction (02:03) - The main idea behind Holacracy (06:50) - How Brian discovered and built Holacracy  (08:41) - To create clarity, ask these essential questions  (11:30) - The one thing people misunderstand about Holacracy (13:13) - The modern management hierarchy (17:04) - Where to start when implementing Holacracy (20:08) - Power and ownership under a Holacracy (23:17) - How to distribute power throughout an organization (25:45) - Support and mentorship in a Holacracy (28:35) - Imagine having the best firing system in the world (34:15) - Key steps to ensure you’re hiring the right people (37:18) - Patterns that inform great hiring (44:10) - Pitfalls to look out for when implementing Holacracy (47:30) - How to avoid slipping back into old management habits (50:19) - How long it takes from implementation to success with Holacracy (57:10) - Ways Holacracy creates order, structure, and alignment in an organization (01:01:02) - How to properly manage remote teams  (01:03:04) - Tips for running better meetings (01:07:05) - How Holacracy drives creativity in teams (01:11:02) - The story of Medium and Zappos using Holacracy (01:15:33) - The types of companies currently having success with Holacracy (01:18:45) - Brian’s definition of a conscious creator (01:19:57) - Parting thoughts