Ep 65: Holacracy and New Organizational Structures for the Future of Work

Today my guest for the Future of Work Podcast is Alexis Gonzales-Black.  Alexis is the former organizational design lead for Zappos, and is currently the co-founder of Thoughtful Org Partners.  Previously, I spoke with Brian J. Robertson, the creator of the concept of Holacracy.  This concept received fame because of Zappos initiatives around Holacracy.  Alexis is one of the people who helped lead the entire Holacracy transition there.

Alexis was a part if the pilot group at Zappos for Holacracy.  She worked on the implementation team for over 2 years.  Currently, Alexis works with Thoughtful Org, which she co-founded, to help companies explore what the future structure of their organizations look like.  In Holacracy, as an operating system, individuals are not confined to one group or team.  Reaching across the organization for opportunities is available and encouraged. Self-organization can be used as a diversity and inclusiveness tool as well.  Alexis provides great insights to alternative organizational structures. This podcast is a must listen to anyone who wants to learn about alternative organizational structures and how they could work for your company.

What you will learn in this episode

• What is Holacracy?
• How Self Organizations Work In the Decision-making Process
• What Zappos has done with Holacracy and Where They Are Going
• The Difference between Empowerment and Distributed Authority
• Holacracy and the New Internal Job Board
• New Organizational Structures
• Alternatives to Hierarchy

Link from the episode

Thoughtful Org Partners

(Music by Ronald Jenkees)